Familiar Faces, Familiar Places
by Toomi
Summary: The war with the Ori is over and SG1 is due for some vacation but something happens that will change their plans, especially Vala's. DanielVala. Warnings in first chapter. Spoilers for season 10 and Ark of Truth.
1. Chapter 1

Familiar Faces, Familiar Places.

Pairing: D/V

Disclaimer: Not mine and never will be...

Spoilers: Mostly season 10. Anything Ark Of Truth related comes from spoilers and from my own imagination. Some chapters will have specific episode spoiler warnings.

Other Warnings: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH. This chapter will be flagged as such at the start.

Other notes: The story begins at the end of the war with the Ori, perhaps at the end of Ark of Truth and will continue from then on. My first attempt at a multi-chapter D/V fic.

* * *

_Chapter one notes: Potential spoilers for AoT. References to Crusade and Momento Mori. Two character deaths, not the major one yet..._

Adria was dead but her army refused to believe it. SG-1 had joined the fight against her army on the planet she had fallen and along with the Jaffa, some of the Lucian Alliance, many of their other allies from across the galaxy, and the few Ori soldiers that had defected before Adria's death with Tomin as their leader. The fighting was fierce and not quite what Vala was used to. Instead of a spectacular fight between ships in space this was one mass of confusion fought on the ground. No one single shot from a weapon could kill many like it could if they were on the Daedalus, instead they broke into groups trying to convince the Ori soldiers that their leader was dead once and for all.

It wasn't working. Vala was with one of the many Jaffa groups, Teal'c with another. Cam had ordered the Daedalus to stay in orbit but not beam them out until he gave the order and Vala agreed with him. For the Tau'ri to leave before the battle was won would not be sending good signals to their allies. She wanted to fight until the end, until no more Ori believers intent on destroying their worlds were left.

Somewhere Cam was with a group of Lucian Alliance, Sam was on the Ori ship, Daniel with some of their other allies, and Tomin was working with the group he commanded, trying to reach out to his one time friends and comrades to let them know what had happened in the hope they could stop this before too many were killed.

Tomin had defected a while ago after what he claimed began with a disagreement over the translation of a text with a Prior. He had thought about it for many days after he had helped Vala escape. He would not say what event happened that caused him to leave the army of the Ori but would only say that it had gone against everything he believed in. Despite that, he still followed Origin, as did many of those that defected with him, claiming that the book was true and the Prior's bent the words to their needs.

He had contacted the SGC through the Jaffa and after some discussion it had been agreed that Vala would not see him at first. The chances of Adria discovering what had happened was too great especially if the information that Tomin bore was true. The result was that Vala had seen Tomin only twice, briefly, and always in the company of several others.

He had brought the news of Adria's return, her de-ascension and bits and pieces of their future plans. Under the guise of protecting a Prior he had escaped only to be captured by the Jaffa. Vala was proud of him, of what he had done. She knew that in his heart he was a good man, that the Priors had slowly changed his ideals until his breaking point. He was a trustworthy ally despite the thoughts of the IOC and had proved it over and over again.

The sounds of Ori Staff blasts came nearer and nearer as she followed the Jaffa towards the village under the cover of the trees and thick undergrowth and she readied herself for another attack. So far the goal had been to disarm the soldiers and then to inform them of the latest developments, keeping them secure until Sam had the Ori ship ready to go. The plan was to transfer the soldiers to the ship and hope that some time in the very near future they would see what had happened and be offered the chance to settle down in their galaxy or returned to their own if they could find a working Supergate.

This group of Ori soldiers had been in the village firing on the Jaffa led by Teal'c for most of the battle so far. There would be several Prior's with this group, she guessed, and taking them all out would not be too easy. As they entered the village the fighting shifted from the outlying forest to each other until a faint blue shield encompassed the Ori soldiers.

Hoping that the other half of their group had managed to plant the anti-prior device close by before the shield went up, it was only a matter of time before the shield fell.

When it did there was a small amount of shock that rippled through the group as it was determined that the anti-prior device had not yet been activated. Cautiously one of the Jaffa approached and when he signalled that the shield had in fact fallen, they all continued as did the shooting.

Vala spotted the Prior through one of the open doors in a dwelling and aimed. She wondered why he was hiding indoors when usually they were leading their troops relying on their personal shields from their power to protect them. Indicating her intentions to several Jaffa she approached, finger ready on the trigger. When she entered the Prior turned and banged his staff on the wooden floor. A wave of light rippled through the air and Vala was knocked off her feet. Expecting to be held in the air, perhaps tossed out of the building, or choked, she hesitated before reaching for her weapon.

Nothing happened and the Prior had closed his eyes, muttering what she assumed to be a prayer under his breath. Standing she looked to the other Jaffa who had been knocked out of the still open door and shrugged. The blow had not been anything like she had experienced before and the expression on the Prior's face was one of concentration and frustration as he banged his staff several more times, only sending out a brief flicker of light.

Vala took the chance and fired several rounds at him. She watched as he managed to stop them but fired again anyways. Sudden shock pierced the Prior's face as one of her bullets sank into his outstretched palm but Vala took the opportunity and continued to fire until the Prior was on the ground, bleeding profusely. She watched as his eyes closed and the markings on his face began to diminish. Nervously she approached but before she could try and take his pulse to assure her he was dead, a strong hand grasped her wrist. The Jaffa shook his head and the two left the building, the Jaffa shouting of the Prior's death to his comrades and for the soldiers to hear.

It took less than half an hour to defeat the group of soldiers and when they were tied up in the various fashions of Jaffa, and Tau'ri, Vala radioed Cam to let them know what had happened and to update him on their victory.

"Good, we were beginning to worry if this was some new Prior trick."

"Trick?" Vala asked.

"Yeah, Daniel thought that they might be doing it to see if they could ascend." Cam's comment had Vala worried for a moment. She ran back to where the Prior had fallen, relieved to find him still there, dead but not ascended.

"So have all the Prior's fallen?"

"Nope. Seems that for now it's just the ones that either were only recently made into Priors or those that are from our own galaxy. Teal'c reported that there's still several Prior's with all their powers running around."

After getting an update from Cam on the situations of the others in her team, Vala left with several of the Jaffa to join the group lead by Tomin who had encountered one of the Priors with all their powers. Arriving she was informed that while the Prior was still able to conjure up shields he was becoming weak and Tomin guessed it would not be long before he fell. The Jaffa reluctant to wait it out began planting anti-prior devices and trying to lure the Prior towards them.

Eventually the Prior was captured and while he struggled to overcome the effects of the anti-prior device, Tomin began his speech to try and convince the soldiers that this war was not what the Book Of Origin spoke of. Vala had not seen him do this before and as she watched the forest from her post for an ambush, she listened to his words. He spoke passionately, quoting the book, allowing his former comrades to question him freely and air their opinions. She knew that there would be several Jaffa, their staff weapons ready to fire watching the group, forcing them to listen to Tomin for a short while. Those that considered his words would be kept separate from those who refused to believe them in the hope that some could be let go or assist them in their battle.

This was not the only planet where the very same battle was occurring. This just happened to be the biggest as Adria had been here. All over the galaxy on Ori worlds and non believing worlds the same war was being fought and once they were done here, they would go to another world to help there. They needed as many people as they could get and ex-Ori soldiers on their side couldn't hurt.

"You are a traitor," one man called to Tomin.

"No. I believe in Origin, the message that the book gives, but I do not believe that the methods used by the Priors are true to the words of the Ori."

"She is the mother of the Orici and if what you say is true, she killed her own child."

Vala felt her blood turn cold. It was not the first time this had been brought up just as it had not been the first time she had participated in a plan to kill Adria. She schooled her face to one of uncaring while forcing herself to calm and not allow the deep feeling of guilt that rose up inside her to challenge her at this time. She would deal with that later but now she needed a cool head.

Several staff blasts caught Vala's attention and she spun around to where Tomin stood. Several of the captured soldiers had been killed and many more were dying as the blasts continued. The Jaffa were firing back at the few Ori soldiers who had entered the village and Vala fired moving towards Tomin. Once the captured Ori soldiers had been killed the blasts started to concentrate on the Jaffa, Tomin and herself. She ran for shelter radioing Cam as she did. He ordered her to fall back to his position and they would cover their retreat.

They ran the short distance to the trees with only a few blasts making contact with the Jaffa. None of the injuries were life threatening they assured her and they continued to run through the forest towards Cam's position. It was tough as there were many obstacles in their path and the injured Jaffa began to slow. Refusing to run ahead and abandon them they slowed the pace, hoping they had a good enough head start on the soldiers.

She heard the sounds of bullets overhead and knew they were close to Cam and his group. Jaffa staff blasts joined in as they began the dash towards the open grass. It wasn't a long run and hopefully Cam's group would be able to distract the Ori soldiers from firing upon them. The occasional blast did land close but no one was hurt until they reached the trees.

She heard him cry out and watched him fall onto the ground, the Jaffa he was helping falling also.

"Vala, you guys make it?"

"It's Tomin. He's been hit."

"On our way." Vala barely heard Cam's words as she approached Tomin and sank to her knees by his side. Gently she turned him over and felt her stomach rebel as she looked at the large wound on his neck. He had been hit just below his chin and the wound spread down underneath the collar of his armor. Desperately she tried to remove it, hoping to ease some of the tightness around his wound, but he grabbed her hand instead.

"Vala," Tomin gasped, his face loosing colour rapidly.

"Ssshhh. Save your energy. Cam'll be here soon and we'll get out of here."

"No time."

"Tomin..." She struggled with her words as she watched Tomin fight to keep his eyes open, a lone tear escaping down her cheek.

Tomin reached for her face and wiped the tear away. "Love you," he whispered.

Vala tenderly stroked his face, sobbing and calling his name, pleading with him to open his eyes.

"Domii," he gasped as Cam approached, Vala barely hearing the word.

Cam looked at Tomin briefly before ordering the Daedalus to beam them up, preferably directly into the infirmary. As the bright light faded he began to help the Jaffa into the safety of the trees.

It was several hours later before SG-1 returned to the Daedalus. They'd heard that Tomin had been beamed up earlier with Vala but had not heard anything since. The moment they were on board Daniel made the inquiry. Colonel Caldwell shook his head and Daniel left the bridge heading to the infirmary. He asked if Vala was there once he couldn't find her but was told that she had left. Hoping to find her in their temporary quarters he ran there, letting Sam know where he was headed and to give him a bit to talk to her.

He let himself in assuming she wouldn't and turned the light on. She was sitting with her back to the bed, staring at the wall, a book of Origin by her side. He called her name softly to let her know it was him and when she didn't respond or turn towards him, he approached her.

"He's dead, Daniel." Her voice was deep but not broken by tears.

"I know." Sliding down beside her he took in her tear stained face and red swollen eyes. When she didn't speak or face him he continued. "He died doing something he believed in. Many of the soldiers we captured today are willing to join us, most of them are ones that Tomin spoke to."

Still not receiving a response, Daniel shuffled a little closer and moved his arm around her shoulders, gently pulling her closer. He felt her sigh before she began to shake and knew that she was crying.

"He said he loved me and I couldn't respond," she sobbed out.

"He knew, you didn't have to say anything."

"No, I did and I didn't."

Daniel was confused by her statement and as he was trying to think of something to console her, Vala continued.

"I didn't love him, not as he did me. He was kind, caring and treated me like no one had before. He saved me when they left me to die, gave me a home, treated my unborn child as his even when he knew it wasn't. I cared for him, perhaps even loved him, but not as much as I could've."

"Vala, he knew, trust me."

"How would you know?" She looked directly at him, challenging him.

"We talked."

"You talked about his and my relationship?" Her sorrow turned into anger as she glared at Daniel.

"Yes." Daniel had not planned on it but Tomin had brought it up after one of their meetings which Vala had not been at. "He told me that he knew you loved him for who he was and what he had done for you. He understood why you wanted to return to us but he didn't think that if this all ended in a victory for our side that you would settle down with him. He was going to talk to you when it was safe to do so."

As Vala's anger subsided she pondered Daniel's words with her head resting on his shoulder, he remembered the conversation.

It had started with Tomin asking how Vala was doing, was she happy, was she content? Daniel had felt a little uneasy at first wondering what to tell him. He didn't know what Vala's true feelings for Tomin were and didn't want to mislead Tomin in any way. Tomin had surprised him by stating point blank that he knew Vala's love was not his but loved her the same. He spoke lovingly of finding her, caring for her and their marriage. He still had a hard time believing that she would care for him when he was a cripple but she did, allowing herself to become part of his life, giving him hope for his future. Tomin knew she did love him but there was something missing. Tomin had ended the conversation by telling Daniel to take care of Vala.

Before he had responded, Tomin had left leaving Daniel alone with his thoughts. He had wondered what Vala's feelings towards him were after she had lost her memory but had shoved the thought to the back of his mind. As the months went by the nagging thought resurfaced and he found himself becoming drawn to her. Now adding Tomin's words to his train of thoughts he couldn't deny it within himself anymore.

Coming out of his thoughts he realised that Vala had fallen asleep on him and his hands were softly drawing random designs on her arm and shoulder. He needed to take a little time and get his thoughts straight in his head and the moment he did he would talk to Vala. There would be no more excuses.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Slight spoiler for Dominion._

Vala woke not remembering going to bed yet here she lay. She rolled over and stepped off, listening intently to see if Sam was in the room. The Daedalus did not have the space for single sleeping quarters so with the exception of a few they all shared. She was in a small room with only 2 beds, a small space to hang clothing, and a bedside table. Normally she didn't mind as they rarely spent enough time on any of the ships to actually need to stay there. Even then, the close proximity of Sam wouldn't have bothered her but right now she needed to be alone.

Realising she was still dressed in her BDU's that she had changed into shortly after arriving on the ship, she quietly slipped out of the room. Hungry she headed to the mess where at 0300 it was almost deserted. Carefully choosing a sandwich from the few that remained and grabbing a cup of fresh coffee that was a staple on board, she sank into a chair in the far corner. Feeling the steaming liquid trickle down her throat she wondered what the next planet would bring.

They'd been lucky so far. While they had lost a few the numbers were nowhere near the losses of the Ori army. There were more injured but all of them would recover, many of the injured Jaffa were ready to join them on the next world. She knew that there was much left to be done and was grateful for the upcoming tasks. It would keep her mind on something instead of allowing it to wander.

The plan, if they managed to defeat Adria, had been to head to a different world once they had squashed the army where they were. They were headed to the world where the Odyssey would be waiting, a planet with the second largest population of Ori soldiers that they knew of. Once there they would do the same they had just done, and continue to the next world.

* * *

Daniel growled in frustration as the thoughts ran through his mind keeping him awake. He'd sat with Vala for just over an hour before carefully lifting her into her bed. After making sure she was still sleeping he had joined the rest of SG-1 in the infirmary. Cam had required a few stitches to his forehead after a Prior had struck him with his now useless staff so naturally the team had converged to where he was being treated. Sam had asked how Vala was doing and he'd informed them that she was upset but now sleeping.

As there wasn't much time between worlds Cam had suggested they all get some rest so they'd be ready to go when they arrived. Yawning, Sam had been one step ahead of him only waiting to be sure that Vala was ok before interrupting Daniel while they had talked. After saying his good night's he had headed off to his room he shared with one of the other scientists on board, relieved to find it empty. He'd fallen asleep almost immediately but had woken within a few hours and now here he lay, pondering their next mission.

He wondered if Vala would be up for doing the same thing over again in such a short time since losing Tomin. He knew that if he asked her she would insist she was fine and do everything in her power to convince him of that fact. He admired her persistence and her resilience but at some point she had to have a breaking point. Sha're had been his, he remembered leaving the SGC after she had died. While Vala and Tomin's relationship wasn't quite the same he did wonder what her intentions would be after the Ori were defeated once and for all.

Destroying Adria had never been her raison d'etra, but the war against the Ori had been a large part of her life for the past two years. Not only that but essentially she had played a part in murdering her own child. While no-one who knew Vala or how Adria came to be believed that, if they had been on Earth and Adria had not been a cult leader intend on destroying every non believer in the world, Vala would have been locked away for the crime, as would they all. He hadn't had chance to talk to her yet about Adria, only listening to her talk a little about Tomin. He remembered when SG-1 had captured Adria before she had ascended, he had tried to talk to her then, as had Cam. Both had received a similar speech from Vala: Adria was not her daughter, a device created by the Ori to bend the Other's rules, she was merely the delivery method.

He hadn't believed it then and wouldn't now. The only way she couldn't be affected by the deaths of Tomin and Adria was if her heart was made of pure ice and he knew it wasn't. He wondered how much of her felt responsible for what Adria had done.

He had not noticed that his feet had carried him to the mess. Due to the late or early hour, depending on how you looked at it, there were few personnel around, most of the people on board resting in preparation for the coming morning. Shrugging as he guessed he wouldn't be sleeping anymore, he entered looking for the coffee. In the corner sat Vala, sandwich in hand, staring into the wall. Grabbing a cup full he joined her, startling her as the chair scraped backwards on the floor.

"Oh, Daniel," she said as she looked at the barely touched sandwich in her hand. "You startled me."

"I can see that. Couldn't sleep?"

"No." She sighed deeply as she set the sandwich back on the plate.

"Yeah, breakfast will be soon so I wouldn't eat that either."

"What?" Daniel's attempt at lightening her mood fell flat as she missed what he said.

"Never mind." At her slight smile and faint nod he glanced around to see who else was there before asking her a question in a quiet voice. "You ok?"

"I'm fine, really."

"Vala, this isn't the time," he said kindly. "Yesterday was a hard day for you and no one would blame you if you took today off, rested a bit."

"Daniel, really I'm fine, ready to go."

"Vala..."

"Will you just drop it already?" She stormed out of the mess leaving Daniel behind staring at the sandwich.

After he cleaned up their table he had chased after her giving her some time to cool down. When he didn't find her at her room, instead waking a sleepy Sam, he kicked himself mentally for letting her take off without him. Wondering if she would head to his room he began to run in that direction only to see her waiting for one of the elevators. She saw him and began to leave but he got to her quickly, grabbing her shoulder lightly and turning her to face him.

"I know what you're going to say, just listen to me for a moment." Daniel spoke firmly yet softly to her. "You're fine, you always are, but I want to be sure that you really are ok with this."

"Why, because you don't want me distracted down there and end up getting someone killed?" She spat the words out at him.

"I hadn't thought of that actually." He spoke lightly hoping to get a tiny smile out of her but she was too angry for that. "No, because I want to make sure that you don't spend the rest of your life carrying around the guilt, sadness or pain with you wherever you go." He let go of her and waited for her response.

Instead of turning and walking away she stared at him in disbelief and he could almost see the anger seeping from her.

"Why?"

"Because we all care about you." He stepped closer to Vala and lowered his voice. "Because I care about you." Before she had chance to say anything he drew his arms around her and engulfed her in a hug. He felt her body relax against his and knew that the anger was gone. They stood there together for several minutes before Daniel suggested they get out of the corridor and they headed to his room.

He was relived that his roommate had not returned as there was no other place he could think of where the likelihood of them not being disturbed was slim to none. He sat on the bed next to her and asked idle questions until she began to talk. He listened as she spoke of feeling helpless yet at the same time knowing she had a bond with Adria that she could've used to stop what had happened. He held her as the thoughts and feelings she had kept bottled up since her return to the SGC came pouring out. When she was done they sat in silence, both of them enjoying the moment.

The sound of Daniel's alarm made them both jump and he leaned over to turn it off.

"So?" He wanted to leave the decision in her hands hoping that Cam would not overrule him.

"I want to go," she stated firmly. "Not for the reasons you think either. I want to go help, work with my team."

"Ok then. If you want to hit the showers before everyone else gets up, now's the perfect time."

For the first time in days he saw the corners of her mouth turn up as she began to smile.

"Thank you, Daniel."

"Me? I should be saying that to you."

"Why?"

"For talking to me, trusting me..." As he trailed off his hand moved to the stray strand of hair that had fallen over her face. Gently he teased it back into place, curling the end around her ear. As his hand fell back to the bed, Vala grabbed it.

"I'll always trust you."

"Vala..."

"I know."

"We'll talk when we've got a little bit more privacy."

"When we get back." Vala let go of his hand and opened the door still smiling.

After a refreshing shower, Vala joined the rest of SG-1 in the mess, taking a seat opposite Daniel. He grinned at her which was missed by Cam as he avidly discussed their plans for the day but both Sam and Teal'c noticed sending curious glances their way. Vala shook her head at Sam and it was understood that they'd talk about it later. Digging in eagerly to her breakfast she caught up with the discussion and couldn't wait to begin.


	3. Chapter 3

Spoilers for: The Shroud, Dominion.  
**Warning: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!!!!!!**

Things had been going relatively well by the time they arrived at their fourth planet. At the rate they were going, General Landry had informed them that they would be able to return shortly and let the Jaffa and ex-Ori soldiers continue. He understood that SG-1 needed a break as they'd been working hard with few breaks for the last year or so. Other teams had already returned to Earth due to injuries or as per orders and there were still many teams out there, doing the same thing on different planets.

The Daedalus was being recalled to Atlantis and Vala knew that Daniel longed to be on board. With the Ori gone he had told her that he would love to spend more time in Atlantis discovering the city of the Ancients for himself, but it was not to be just yet. Once back on Earth there were a few things left to be tied up such as de-briefings, new alliances, new treaties, and then Daniel would be free to pursue what he wished and no one assumed he'd be denied a trip to Atlantis.

She and Sam had briefly discussed their future plans the night before, Vala indicating that she wasn't sure what she wanted. Neither her nor Daniel had much opportunity to talk alone since their one discussion and Vala didn't want to jump ahead of herself and hope for too much. Despite those thoughts she had her heart set on Atlantis, with Daniel.

On the planet the soldiers were fewer in numbers yet just as fierce. The heavy fighting took several hours before the soldiers were captured. The Priors had long since lost their powers and they were finding that many had committed suicide, perhaps in hope of ascension. As Daniel was talking to one group, explaining the defeat of the Ori and urging the soldiers to lay down their weapons and join their cause, a blast from high in a tree struck him in his arm. Within moments chaos emerged, the captured soldiers now freed and taking up arms again. Vala ran to Daniel who assured her he was ok and they with the Jaffa and defected soldiers ran for cover.

Vala radioed the rest of SG-1 who were split amongst other groups on the planet, telling them what had happened. Cam immediately ordered the Daedalus to beam Daniel out despite Daniel's protests that he should finish there first.

They were transported directly into the infirmary where several nurses stood by, ignoring his continuing protesting that he was fine. Vala stayed with him as he was examined, the wound cleaned and dressed and both headed to the mess.

Daniel had been lucky. His arm had only been nicked by the energy weapon leaving a gash on his arm that required some stitches but within a few weeks that and the surrounding skin which had been burned would be healed according to the ships doctor. He'd insisted that Daniel wear a sling but the moment they were clear he removed it complaining that it rubbed against the wound. Vala merely rolled her eyes at him and entered the mess.

It was later that evening when the rest of SG-1 returned. The mission had been successful, only taking 2 days to defeat the soldiers. Once they had been to the infirmary and showered, Caldwell met them on the bridge. He explained that Landry was recalling them all back to Earth where Daedalus would restock before heading off to Atlantis. Vala couldn't miss the look of appreciation in both Cam's and Sam's faces for the chance to go home and take some time to relax. They all needed it.

The 5 days it would take to travel to Earth by ship was used as productively as possible. Cam, Sam and Daniel all used the time to begin their lengthy reports of the past few weeks since the beginning of the end of the war against the Ori. Sam also spend a great deal of time working with technicians and the maintenance crew to repair the minor damages that the Daedalus had sustained while Daniel and Vala spent time beginning to catalogue several Ancient and Ori artifacts they were bringing back with them for future study.

Two days into their journey Vala noticed that Daniel did not seem to be quite himself. He was unusually quiet despite her attempts to get him to talk and she wondered if he needed more of the pain meds the doctor had given him a few days earlier. She asked but he claimed it was only a headache and she suggested they call it a day so he could go get some rest.

By morning it was obvious that Daniel was suffering from more than a headache. When he hadn't made an appearance by the time SG-1 finished breakfast Vala headed to his room and let herself in. She found Daniel still sleeping yet she had a hard time waking him and when he finally opened his eyes he inquired groggily as to where they were. Concerned she called for Sam to join her while Daniel began to get up. When Sam arrived Daniel was insisting he was fine but relented to a quick trip to the infirmary. It was discovered there that he had a slight fever and the doctor assumed that he had picked up a bug from one of the many locales they had been to in the previous weeks.

Vala knew that several members of the SGC had fallen ill recently with similar symptoms to what they called flu and all recovered within a week. The doctor took blood samples from all of them to see if they had been infected too and they waited for their results with Daniel.

Dr. Nole returned and told them all they were free to go as he hadn't found any traces of the virus in their samples and if it were a highly contagious illness by now most of the ship would be infected. Vala left Daniel to sleep quietly whispering to him that she'd be back later.

Feeling full of energy she offered to help Sam with some of the repairs and as they worked, conversation flowed easily. It didn't take long before they were discussing their plans for the immediate future. When Vala announced that she wanted to go off-base and have a team night the first chance they could Sam winced slightly.

"Vala, we might be on the Daedalus a little longer than a few more days."

"What do you mean? Why?"

"If anyone else becomes ill or traces of the virus is found in any of the blood samples, we'll probably be quarantined until the illness runs it's course or an antidote is created."

"Just us?"

"No, the entire ship." At Vala's crestfallen expression Sam couldn't restrain her laughter. "Why did you have a hot date planned?"

For the first time in a while Vala's quick wit failed her and instead of quipping a fast line she found herself feeling a little warm in her face. At Sam's curious look she felt that turn into a full-fledged blush.

"Not really," Vala finally responded.

"Uh, huh."

"It's not like we made plans, more like plans to make plans."

Sam smiled at her as she spoke. "That's good, for both of you."

"Wait. Isn't this the point where you're supposed to give me the 'be good or else' speech?"

"No. I know you won't do anything to hurt him, just as he won't to you."

"Thanks, Sam. Just, er, don't tell..."

"I won't say a word."

At the end of the fourth day of their journey home Daniel was much worse. He was delirious and nothing the doctors did helped bring his fever down. No one else on board contacted the illness and every one's tests returned normal. Around midnight SG-1 along with Colonel Caldwell were called to the infirmary. Dr. Nole reported that he had found something unusual in Daniel's blood and after contacting the SGC had a theory of sorts.

With the exception of Vala who was already there, the others rushed down to the infirmary where a grim looking Dr. Nole met them and invited them into a room where Daniel couldn't hear them.

"What is it?" Vala looked pale and tired.

"The blood work has given us an insight as to what is causing his illness. After contacting the SGC and Dr. Lam confirming my results I urge us to find a planet with a Stargate so we can transport him to Earth as soon as possible."

Colonel Caldwell nodded after ordering those on the bridge to do just that, returned to the conversation.

"Why?" Vala wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer and barely noticed when Teal'c came to stand behind her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"When Dr. Jackson returned after changing back from a Prior the SGC did extensive blood work which revealed a marker of sorts in his system."

"Right, I remember that." Sam turned to Colonel Caldwell and Vala who were looking at her, puzzled. "We thought it was similar to the protein marker left in me by Jolinar. After a short time it seemed to break down in his system until only a trace amount was left. We assumed that within a few more weeks it would have gone completely."

"Correct," added Dr. Nole. "However, during the recent tests we've discovered that the element has increased dramatically..."

"So he's turning back into a Prior?" Questioned Vala.

"No. I don't think so and Dr. Lam agrees. Until we're able to do further testing which I don't have the facilities or equipment to do here, we can only assume that perhaps it is something that Adria did in case of her death."

"But she died before and Daniel was fine," jumped in Cam.

"That is incorrect, Colonel Mitchell. Adria ascended." Teal'c had not left his position behind Vala.

"Right. But just Daniel? He wasn't even a Prior anymore."

Vala was almost deadly calm as she responded to Cam's question. "Adria might've done that in the event we captured Daniel when he was a Prior. She could use that against us."

"Like take him and he dies, or kill me and he dies? Then why didn't she mention that the first few times we tried to kill her?"

"It is possible that she was unaware of this." Cam nodded in agreement as Teal'c spoke.

"Regardless, we need to get him back to Earth as quick as possible. The SGC is recalling the Goa'uld healing device from Area 51 and it should be there within a few hours. Dr. Lam is preparing for his arrival..."

The room fell silent as a voice came through Colonel Caldwell's radio and everyone strained to hear what was being said.

"Colonel Carter, they need your assistance on the bridge," Caldwell announced before exiting, Sam hot on his heels.

"Did anyone catch that?" Asked Cam. When both Teal'c and Vala shook their heads he added, "I'll head up there and find out what's going on." He didn't need to add that they would stay with Daniel as he knew that Vala wouldn't leave his side.

* * *

"So?" Vala demanded the moment Cam entered.

"We're not 'gating to Earth."

"Why not? Daniel..."

"It's faster to just fly there apparently. That's why Sam was needed. The closest gate is just under a days journey away while if we push the engines a little harder we should be able to arrive on Earth in, oh, 14 hours."

"That is good news, Colonel Mitchell."

"Yeah, T, why don't you go get some rest. You too, Vala. I'll stay with Jackson for a bit."

Teal'c bowed his head slightly and left while Vala didn't move.

"Vala, you need to rest otherwise you'll get back to the SGC and have Dr. Lam order you to before she gives you something to force you to. You don't even have to go back to your quarters, just sit back, close your eyes and see if you can manage an hour or so."

Vala knew that Cam was concerned about her and appreciated it but didn't want to sleep as the fear of missing something was too great, as was the fear of exactly what she could miss. She heard Cam settle into a chair behind her somewhere and for a while thought he had fallen asleep as he was so quiet. Turning around she watched as his blue eyes rested directly on her, not wavering. Reaching towards Daniel she grasped his hand lightly hoping to feel some response from him. As she absentmindedly ran her thumb over the back of his hand she felt a slight response. Encouraged she continued staying focused on his face.

"Hey."

His voice startled her and she woke suddenly, for a moment confused as to where she was.

"Daniel!" Behind her she heard someone stand and was surprised to see it was Sam. She hadn't thought she'd been asleep for that long. As Sam called for Dr. Nole Vala talked to Daniel. "How are you feeling?"

"Warm."

At that moment Dr. Nole rushed in and Vala stepped back as he examined his patient.

"What happened?" Daniel asked Vala.

"You've been ill."

"How long?"

"You've been here for just under 2 days."

"The headache?" Daniel squinted trying to get Vala in focus as he couldn't see her expression clearly.

"Dr. Nole believes that was the beginning of your symptoms."

"Ah."

"Well, his temperature has dropped and his blood pressure is returning to normal. When I've tested his blood I'll be back with the results." Dr. Nole swept out of the room, two small vials of Daniel's blood in his hand.

"Jackson! Good to see you awake!" Cam entered with Teal'c and approached Daniel.

"Cam? Yeah, you too."

"How you feelin'."

"Tired," Daniel spoke between yawns.

"Sleep, we'll be here. We ain't going anywhere." With that Cam slouched onto a chair and made himself comfortable.

When Dr. Nole returned, Teal'c was pacing, Sam dozing, Cam staring blankly at the wall, and Vala back by Daniel's side while he slept. The moment he cleared his throat Sam's eyes shot open and all their attention was directed at him.

"We're not sure what the test results mean and won't probably for several hours."

"Why not?" Sam eyed the doctor warily.

"They indicated a high concentration of this Prior element in the sample, the highest we've seen so far. This could be the the highest we'll see before he begins to recover."

"I sense a but in there somewhere."

"Colonel Mitchell, I'm afraid we don't know enough about this element to understand what the damage it caused to his body and for now we can only hope that the concentration will begin to decline. I believe that by the time he is transported to the SGC we should see some improvement and once he's there, Dr. Lam will be able to do more extensive testing than we are currently able to."

The next 9 or so hours felt like days to Vala. She stayed awake by Daniel's side for most of it, only leaving to use the bathroom and when Sam almost dragged her away to eat. Again the small reminder that if she appeared at the SGC looking exhausted and slightly ill herself that Dr. Lam would chase her out of the infirmary or give her something to make her rest.

The Daedalus beamed Daniel directly into the infirmary and deposited the rest of SG-1 inside the briefing room. Vala immediately went to leave before General Landry asked them all to take a seat as no one would be allowed to see Dr. Jackson until Dr. Lam had completed her tests. They began what Vala was sure to be a very long debriefing.

Vala glanced at the clock as Dr. Lam joined them in the briefing room. Two hours had passed so far. She felt a shiver travel up her spine as she noted the resolved look on Dr. Lam's face and immediately brought her knees up to her chest, hugging herself tightly.

"I'm afraid I don't have the best news. Since the last tests done on Daedalus, the element in Daniel's system has continued to increase. His fever has lessened somewhat and he did wake for a while, lucid and complaining he was hungry."

"But that's a good sign right?" If that was the worst Vala was sure Daniel would be out of there in no time.

"If his temperature remains high it could result in organ damage, or permanent brain damage."

"What about the healing..." Began Vala.

"It just arrived. We've given him something for the pain and he's sleeping again..." Dr. Lam stood and followed Vala who had run out of the room, Sam and Teal'c following.

"General." Cam had not followed the others out of the briefing room.

"Yes, Mitchell."

"I think we should contact the Tok'ra."

"Colonel?"

"If this doesn't work we may need to act fast. Trying to figure this thing out might take too long. If the Tok'ra have got a spare symbiote kicking around..." Cam trailed off as the General nodded understanding what he was implying.

"Would Dr. Jackson accept a symbiote?"

"Dunno, Sir. It's not something that's ever come up in casual conversation before."

General Landry contemplated the proposal before giving the go ahead to contact the Tok'ra.

Vala immediately grabbed the healing device and after placing it on her hand, closed her eyes as a slight glow came from the device. Sam and Teal'c entered quietly not wanting to break the concentration that was required to utilize the device. They watched as the small crease in Vala's forehead grew, she began to bite her lip, then she scrunched up her eyes tightly. Gasping she opened them and Sam jumped to her side afraid she was about to pass out.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. It's not working."

"The device?"

"No, the healing part. It's not healing him."

"Ok, uh, try it on his arm." Sam suggested as Dr. Lam carefully peeled back the dressing covering the wound on his arm. Again Vala concentrated, this time on healing the wound from the Ori staff blast. It took several minutes before anyone noticed a difference and they watched the wound seemingly repair itself very slowly. It took Vala almost half an hour before she collapsed, sweat gathering on her forehead. The wound had yet to heal completely but looked far better than it had.

* * *

Vala woke to see Dr. Lam's flashlight shining directly into her eyes. With Sam's help she sat up, demanding to know what had happened.

"You collapsed, probably from exhaustion."

"And Daniel?"

"His arm has healed considerably." Vala accepted Teal'c's outstretched hand as he lifted her gently to her feet. Immediately she looked at the wound.

"This isn't right," she said as she looked at the device still in her hand. "This should've healed in moments, perfectly. I've done it thousands of times."

"You're tired. Perhaps after some rest..."

Vala interrupted Dr. Lam. "Remember that plague the Prior's sent to the planet whose people decided I was going to be sentenced to death? The one where Cam got sick? It feels similar to that, when I couldn't heal those people."

"You think it's the Prior Plague?" Inquired Sam.

"We checked. Besides, Daniel's immune to that now, as are all of you," Dr. Lam added.

"No, it's not that, but I can feel a sort of resistance when I'm using this thing." Vala took the device off and placed it none too gently on the table beside her.

"He's stable for now. I suggest you get some rest and try again in several hours. You all should take a few hours to get some sleep."

"Vala MalDoran, I will stay with Daniel Jackson and if he wakes, I will inform you immediately."

Despite knowing that Teal'c would stay with him she was reluctant to leave and only when Dr. Lam told her that if she stayed in the infirmary she would give her something to assist her in falling asleep did she leave.

Several hours later and not feeling any more rested despite sleeping, Vala entered the infirmary to find Daniel awake. Teal'c left to either inform the others or to give her some privacy, she wasn't sure, and she sat next to him smiling as she grasped his hand. Gently she traced the outline of his unshaven jaw as she asked him softly how he was feeling. He croaked out that he'd felt better but also worse and as he laughed, he gasped in pain. Turning she found Dr. Lam holding the Goa'uld healing device out to her. Accepting she smiled at Daniel who nodded his agreement before beginning.

This time when she came around she was lying on a bed instead of the floor.

"Again?"

"Yes." Sam had arrived and looked like she hadn't slept much either.

"I have to try again." She sat and tried to get off the bed. Feeling her head begin to swim she felt Teal'c gently push her back to where she had been laying.

"I tried too. It's different, I understand what you meant."

"Kinda like sucking all the energy out of you?" Vala prompted as Sam nodded. "Where's Cam?"

"He's with the Tok'ra."

"What do they want?" A scowl crossed Vala's face.

"He's trying to see if they have a symbiote in need of a host."

"Daniel!" Vala bolted upright on the bed.

"We haven't had the opportunity to ask Daniel what he thinks about it yet."

"It's that bad?"

Dr. Lam joined them and they all fell silent at the grave look on her face. "Right now I have no idea what else we can do. Nothing we've tried so far has helped his condition but it hasn't made it worse either."

"So he's stable?"

"No. His organs are beginning to shut down and if the Prior element in his blood continues to attack them at the rate it is currently.."

"Dr. Lam!" A frantic nurse stuck her head in the door and Dr. Lam left at a run, SG-1 behind her. They entered the room where Daniel was and Vala heard the machines beeping frantically. She heard the sounds of the defibrillator charging and someone yelling 'again' over and over. As if in a trance she stood watching the entire scene unfold before her eyes leaning on Teal'c and Sam for support as she was sure they were doing to her.

She had no idea how much time had passed when Dr. Lam joined them again as all she could focus on was the now steady, if not slow, beeping that indicated Daniel's heart was still beating.

"Carolyn?" Cam asked the question they all wanted the answer for as he burst through the door.

"The Tok'ra?"

"They might have one but I don't know how long it's gonna take before they can get it here. Daniel?"

"We need that symbiote here fast."

"He agreed?" Vala asked Sam who nodded that he had.

"If he wakes again I can give him something for the pain and to help him sleep. Other than that..." Dr. Lam left her sentence unfinished but SG-1 heard the quiver in her voice that told them all they needed to know.

"How long?"

Dr. Lam looked at Cam before glancing away. "I don't know. Hours, maybe."

Vala broke from the group and sat beside Daniel, no one stopping her. She began to plead with him to fight, to stay with them as SG-1 surrounded her.

For a brief moment she saw the deep blue of his iris as his eyes peeked open. Vala urged him to wake up, talk to her, but other than opening his eyes a little more he didn't say a word.

"Daniel, Cam might've found a symbiote. We need to fight, hold on until it gets here. It won't be long now."

As her hand caressed his face he smiled lazily at her, his eyes closing again.

"Daniel, don't you do this. Stay awake." Vala felt the tears threatening to pour down her face and with every drop of her will power forced them back.

"Love you," he stated simply as SG-1 who had taken seats to the side, heard Vala and rushed to his bedside.

"Daniel..." The constant beeping of the EKG began to decrease and a warning sounded just as Dr. Lam entered.

Daniel opened his eyes one more time and whispered a firm "no" to Dr. Lam who hesitated as she grabbed the defibrillator. Focusing on Vala again he smiled and his mouth formed words but she couldn't hear him. Leaning in closer she heard him whisper, "domii" before the machines let off several high pitched screams. Vala felt someone help her back away while Dr. Lam moved in closer.

She buried her head in what she guessed was Teal'c and tried to block the sounds out. She still refused to allow the tears to fall as one by one the shrieking of machines silenced and was replaced by a lone voice calling out the time.

Vala barely noticed that someone was trying to lead her away, instead shrugging them off to sit by Daniel one more time. She laid one hand on his face, the other running through his hair wanting, hoping that he would wake and tell her he was fine, while another part of her desperately wanted to see him turn into a white light and disappear. When neither happened she placed her head by his hand and began to sob into the sheets.

A cool hand on her bare arm made her jump, she turned to see Sam's tear stained face. Cam had his back to the bed, his shoulders shaking while Teal'c's eyes were closed as he stood straight, arms behind his back. Vala stood and leaned into Sam, both crying on each others shoulders. She could hear the murmuring of voices surrounding them and shortly after hearing whom she guessed was General Landry, the room seemed to empty. It wasn't long before she felt Teal'c's arm around her and she was sure the other was around Sam and she placed an arm around Cam's waist, drawing him into their embrace.

_AN: First time I've written a bit like that... does it work? _


	4. Chapter 4

General Landry watched as the wormhole disengaged after SG-1 headed through the even horizon and headed up to his office. It never got old, watching the many teams of the SGC head through the 'gate and he was always in the control room if he could be. Sighing, he entered his office and waited for the conference call to begin.

He ran over the mission briefing that he'd recently finished with SG-1. Just another planet with an Ancient device or two that they were heading out to check on. There'd been many missions like that since the defeat of the Ori along with many planets that they did not have in their databases before. Worlds untouched by the Goa'uld that the Ori had either converted or tried to destroy, sometimes partially. The SGC and their allies had been busy in the months since the end of the war, helping relocate many, teaching new technologies to even more, and taking care of any Ori 'artifacts' left behind. Several Ori ships had been located on the surface of many worlds and they had been primarily in charge of getting them operational again. There were still soldiers out there that tried to continue the spread of their beliefs in the same way as they had before and skirmishes often happened. Minor Goa'uld had come out of the woodwork trying to claim followers of Origin that felt abandoned and in need of something to fill that void.

General Landry rocked back slightly on his chair. Jack had been right, there was always something going on to keep the SGC busy.

The SGC was almost back to full personnel again after losing many men to injury or worse with only a few opting to either retire or transfer. Only a few remained to return and would do so within the next month or so and teams that had lost members were back up to their four man status after training and working with their new members first. SG-1 had been different though.

He didn't think that any team that lost a member had suffered less than SG-1 as it was always hard to deal with someone suddenly not being there, changing the dynamic of the group and the camaraderie. SG-1 had suffered loss before, several times the same individual and had come through in the end. This time had been different though.

Hank remembered when Jack had arrived on base. He'd been notified the moment they knew that Dr. Jackson's situation was dire and due to most of their ships being needed elsewhere and the only ship in orbit did not have the Asgard beaming technology, Jack had been forced to take the old fashioned route, by flying. By the time he had arrived on base Dr. Jackson was gone and SG-1 were still mourning in the infirmary. Landry had raced down there knowing Jack would head there first.

He knew about the previous deaths that Dr. Jackson had suffered and Jack's continued refusal to believe that his long time friend had died and a small part of Landry wanted to see that for himself, convince himself that this wasn't permanent. When he reached the infirmary and found Jack already there comforting his old team mates, Landry knew that he was not about to witness Jackson's refusal to die. He'd left them alone so they could mourn together.

The funeral had been held in the gateroom with people in the control room and briefing room as there wasn't enough space for them all. People that Landry had never met but who had worked with Daniel previously, most of the SGC, several of the IOC including some from the Pentagon and some offworlders.

After the funeral SG-1 was given the task of removing any sensitive items from Dr. Jackson's apartment as Landry couldn't think of a better group to do such a task. He knew it would be hard but at the same time they were the ones that knew him the best. The apartment had been left for almost a month before SG-1 decided to move everything out and store it in Daniel's old quarters on base.

His office had been a different thing entirely. There were so many artifacts, documents, books and journals and not wanting to mislabel or accidentally lose anything while moving or packing it, the office had been left alone for the most part and slowly those that knew what to look for had begun removing items as they were needed. The office still looked the same and had a feel that Daniel had only just left, perhaps for an extended vacation. Every once in a while Landry found himself outside the door, occasionally finding a light on and knowing exactly who was inside.

At first it had been unknown if Vala would stay. The Ori were defeated and Daniel was gone. There wasn't much, he thought, to keep her there. He was glad he was wrong as she continued to live and work with them in no way indicating that she was intending to leave.

SG-1 was still a team, no stronger than previously with each of the four members doing what they had before and perhaps a little more. Landry admired their resilience, persistence and above all the way this brought them together even more than he thought would be possible. He knew that without each other they would've had a much harder time dealing with their grief and continuing life on a day to day basis. He could almost hear Colonel Carter's laughter as she joked with Mitchell during the briefing. It was those brief moments where Landry knew his flagship team was well on the road to recovery.

The loud ringing of the phone jerked him out of his musings and he picked it up, ready to begin.

* * *

She fell onto her bed exhausted. After a mission that required far too much walking combined with soggy terrain, rain and cold wind, the post mission checkup and debriefing felt like it had taken far longer than it should've. She'd showered as fast as she could longing to curl up under the warmth of the covers and fall into the deep, dreamless sleep that was rare for her now.

They'd found what they'd been looking for, some Ancient gizmo that Sam was eager to begin testing to find out what it did. Vala was sure that she was in her lab at this very moment beginning testing on it. She'd translated the tiny amount of Ancient text on the device before they even made it back home so she assumed she wouldn't be needed anymore.

Reaching for the bedside light she smiled at the team photo that sat in it's frame by her bedside, one that had been taken shortly after returning from their mission that Teal'c still wouldn't talk about. General O'Neill had taken it at one of his bbq's as Cam said something slightly off beat, Sam giving him a strange look, Teal'c with one eyebrow raised, Daniel laughing, and herself smiling at the camera. He'd given it to her shortly after Daniel's death and as it had been the only picture she owned of him at the time, it had immediately gone into a frame and set in a place she would see it often. Since then the other members of SG-1 had shared other photos and they resided in an album sitting on the sparse bookshelf she had. The pictures Daniel owned of himself with various members of his team continued to reside in his office as Vala loathed to move them.

Turning off the light her last thought was the same as it was every night, of Daniel.

She woke suddenly the dream of Ba'al fresh in her mind. This time he had been torturing her with the hand device and for information about Adria. Her dreams rarely stayed the same, they were either subconscious memories from her time as Qetesh, memories of the deaths of Daniel, Tomin and Adria or dreams that her mind conjured up from all that she had seen and heard in her life so far. Knowing where she could go to calm down she dressed in her BDU's and headed out the door.

She opened the door and flipped on the light smiling sadly as she entered. She loved this room and it was probably her favourite place on this entire planet, what she had seen so far.

After Daniel had died she had considered leaving the SGC and trying to forge a life for herself away from the constant reminders of him. Every day felt more difficult than the previous one especially as they were not going on missions to distract her. She'd kept her thoughts to herself as she worked with the others removing anything relating to his work at the SGC from his apartment. During that time she'd been given permission to move freely on the surface providing she kept within Colorado and informing the SGC if she chose to leave Colorado Springs. She had no vehicle nor a permit but Teal'c kindly offered her a ride one night when she felt as though the walls on the base were beginning to close in on her.

He had not asked her any questions nor commented on her request, merely driving her to Daniel's and informing her that when she required a ride home, to call him. She'd spent several nights there, sleeping on the couch, watching TV, some light cleaning, resting. At first she had been worried what her team mates thought of her staying at his house but Sam assured her that they thought nothing of it and if it made Vala happier then she should continue. Within a month Vala knew she couldn't stay there and the thought of living there permanently only made her depressed. She couldn't hold onto him forever and there was a time when she would have to forge a life for herself.

They'd sold the apartment and with General Landry's permission, stored Daniel's belongings in his old room. Why they didn't get rid of them too, Vala had no clue. Perhaps it was just better to do this one thing at a time.

The office was somewhere on base that she could go to, close her eyes and imagine that Daniel was sitting at his desk, a mug of hot coffee in his hand, reading. She'd done the many times but eventually began looking through the books to give her something to do. It didn't take long before she immersed herself into his work as much as she could. There had always been something fascinating to him that he'd been working on and she wanted to share in that passion just even a little bit.

She could read Goa'uld thanks to her time as a host but knew very little Ancient. With the help of several others on base who could read the language she began to learn Ancient along with Latin, immersing herself in studying Daniel's work from the past 10 or so years. The cultures of this planet did not interest her as much as the cultures of the others out there and she found herself drawn to the artifacts of the Ori and Ancients. Before 3 months had passed she was eagerly working with SG-1 tracking down various objects left behind, working with many others on base, scientists and researchers alike to figure out what each device did. By no means was she an expert, but she told herself repeatedly that she was learning.

No more thoughts of leaving SG-1 crossed her mind as she felt that this really was her home. She'd worked hard to find a place amongst these people and she hoped that Daniel would be proud of what she had done.


	5. Chapter 5

"Sam, do you have the device we brought back from P3R 679?" Vala asked as she strolled into Sam's lab.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"You remember the parchment we found with it? Well, Dr. Krenkov and I managed to decipher it and it ended up being some sort of strange Ancient poem. Once we, well, more so he, figured out what it was talking about we might have something."

Sam found the device and looked curiously at Vala. "Something as in?"

"What did the tests say about this thing." Vala held the small device in her hand. It was a relatively flat oval shaped object, shiny silver with engravings around it. Within each segment was an intricate design complete with a Stargate glyph, six in total.

"It's emitting a very tiny amount of energy, so small that we barely caught it. I haven't had time to do a more detailed analysis after SG-14 brought back the device that looks similar to Merlin's..."

"The gate address. We need to go back."

"Vala, we already sent two teams and they found nothing." They had run the six symbols through the computer and it had given them two possible gate addresses. They'd sent teams to both and discovered nothing, not even signs of civilization in the past.

"It's a map, more like directions." At Sam's puzzled look Vala thrust the piece of parchment towards her. "Dr. Krenkov figured it out first. Each line of the poem gave us a direction in which to search. The first line 'at light's end' he guessed to be towards the direction of the setting sun. We've figured out most of it."

"Does it say what's to be found?"

"No but my guess is that it's the other piece of this." Vala flipped over the device she held and pointed towards the indent less than an inch across on the bottom.

* * *

She loved going off world especially when it was from something she had either worked on or something she could work on. It had been hard learning the languages but she found it rewarding despite the frustration that she still ran into not having a complete master of Ancient yet. Instead of being the thief, seductress, the one with a Goa'uld's memories, she now felt like she contributed to the team more than she ever had before and it was a satisfying feeling.

They headed towards the direction that the MALP indicated the local sun would set, Cam trying to take bets on what they'd find at the end of the rainbow. The directions given were to basically follow that route until they could go no further. They had their overnight gear with them, all of them secretly enjoying the possibility of their first overnight mission in several months.

The following morning they began heading north along the ravine's edge stopping when they arrived at a series of caves. At the entrance Cam balked a little reminding everyone several times of the last time they'd entered caves looking for an Ancient device. Vala ignored him and stepped into the dark, Teal'c following behind.

The poem provided the directions in the caves, leading them through twisting paths further and further inside the hillside. When the instructions ran out they began to explore the maze of tunnels making sure to mark the way they had come and which way was a dead end until they finally found what Sam could only assume was the other piece of the device. Eagerly they retrieved it and as there was no writing on it, Vala placed the smaller piece on top. Immediately a holographic image was displayed in the darkness. A string of Ancient words and six symbols. Sam immediately recognized the address as the P3R 689 while Vala worked on deciphering the text.

Slightly downcast she informed them that from what she could guess it was directions to find the device they already had. They returned to the SGC intending on finding out why these two pieces where left on two different worlds yet with the intent that someone would find them both.

It took Dr. Lee accidentally triggering Merlin's device as Sam was completing various tests on their new acquisition in a larger lab, to figure it out. The moment Sam realised that Dr. Lee was out of phase she brought him back and before she had the chance to ask what he thought he was doing he began babbling about a different holographic projection. Vala joined them just in time to go out of phase with the other two as another scientist stood by ready to bring them back at the appointed time.

Vala began translating the text as best she could but as they turned to the next page Sam's eyes lit up as a diagram of a ZPM was displayed. None of them needed a translation for that and Sam became increasingly excited as the third page revealed a gate address. Dr. Krenkov was paged down to the lab and he and Vala spent the rest of the day out of phase translating the entire thing.

General Landry authorized a mission immediately and the following morning SG-1 headed out with their overnight gear as the translation had indicated it was not terribly close to the 'gate.

It took the team almost an entire day to walk to the caves and they planned on staying there for the night. Vala spent most of the evening exploring the caves and surrounding area looking of the ZPM but gave up when it got too dark as she didn't wish to waste her batteries, plus they were tired. They woke up early and after a quick breakfast began the search again.

There were no markings on the cave walls as Vala had expected and the instructions provided by the two devices had not mentioned it would be difficult to find, nor where to find it. They traipsed around for several hours before Sam began picking up energy signatures on her handheld tracker. As they got closer Vala noticed a small groove just the size of the smaller device they had discovered first. Eagerly she dug it out of her backpack and placed it onto the wall. There was a loud crashing sound, then nothing.

"Where are we?" Vala shone her flashlight at Sam's face.

"I don't know but it sounded like some of the cave collapsed and right before it did I registered a spike from whatever was causing the energy readings." Sam turned around shining her flashlight on the stone walls.

"Uh, where are Cam and Teal'c?" There was no sign of them.

"Sam, look at this!" Vala pointed to where she had placed the device. Only half of it was left as the cave wall covered the other half. Vala placed her hands on the stone to check if it was an illusion and pulled her hand back quickly, her skin tingling.

"It's some kind of shield but I'm picking up a different energy reading, this one's definitely the ZPM."

"Ok, so what happened to Cam and Teal'c then?" Vala began to get worried. What if they had been caught in the cave-in.

"This wall, I'm guessing, is some kind of illusion complete with a shield to prevent someone from going back. If we find the ZPM and disconnect it we might disable the shield and be able to walk through."

In case of the shield coming down on it's own, Sam wrote a quick note to the others and placed it close to where the device still hung, then she and Vala headed off to find the ZPM.

It didn't take long, an hour at most and was relatively easy to remove. Halfway back they ran into a dusty and dirty Teal'c and Cam. They'd tried to contact them over the radios but either due to the cave-in or something else within the caves, the radios weren't working.

"Hey, we got worried for a bit there," Cam called to them.

"Same here. You two ok?" Sam asked.

"We are well, Colonel Carter."

"We're good too, Teal'c."

"We've got the ZPM," Cam announced by holding it up to Sam who smiled and did the same to him. "Well, a twofer. Can't argue with that."

"What happened?" Vala inquired.

"I saw you put that thing on the wall and there was a noise right behind us. Me 'n' Teal'c turned around to see the one tunnel that had the dead end begin to collapse and by the time the dust and rocks had settled a little, you guys were nowhere to be seen. Just a wall of stone where you once stood and half that device. The ZPM was in a kind of alcove that must've been covered until the cave-in so we grabbed it. We were about to head back to the gate to get help when the wall vanished and we saw your note."

"I guessed that if we removed the ZPM the shield and illusion would be deactivated." Sam began leading the way back from where they had come from.

To Vala this seemed too easy and mentioned it to the team, slightly surprised that they agreed. Instead of sticking around any longer to find out what would be in store for them, they headed out and began the trek back to the 'gate.

Back at the SGC the glee of having two ZPM's at their disposal was obvious on General Landry's face. Sam was ordered to conduct various tests on them before they tried to connect them to anything and Vala remembered that she had said as much on the planet. Apparently a Goa'uld had tampered with one previously and could've had catastrophic results had the SGC attempted to use them.

Word came through in the next few days that one ZPM would be transported to Atlantis while the other would stay at the SGC for a short period of time before being transferred to the Antarctic base. The moment Vala heard she knew she wanted to be the one to take it through the 'gate to Atlantis. There was something about that majestic city that had driven Daniel for so many years and something insider her needed to go back one last time.

* * *

Time, as someone had said once, healed all wounds. Vala disagreed. It didn't heal them, just made them older and as time passed you began to forget. It had only been three or so months since Daniel's death and she hadn't forgotten him at all, nor had her love for him diminished, but as life continued the pain became less and the laughter more frequent. There were still nights where she dreamt of him, waking with the expectation that he would walk through the door or she would see him in his office. Some days she could swear she'd hear his voice and turn around to find no one there, other days something as simple as smelling coffee while in his office would trigger the tears that still fell for him. She wasn't alone, her and Sam had talked once or twice never in much detail but both knew what each other was trying to say.

She couldn't hold onto him forever as at some point her mourning had to stop. Her life had continued and would do for many years she hoped, but there was a point where she had to let go, so to speak, move forward and only then would she hopefully rid her nights of those last moments watching him lose his battle before her eyes. Then she would be able to remember and cherish the good memories and no in her mind there was no place better than Atlantis to do that.

General Landry had called her to his office and when she arrived, Sam, Cam and Teal'c were leaving. She asked what was going on but none of them responded, only General Landry calling for her to come in and take a seat which she did so nervously. He immediately stated why she was there, explaining that the IOC had decided to send the ZPM through the 'gate to Atlantis using their newly acquired one. It would be faster than waiting for the Daedalus to return and would be a quick round trip. Originally Mr. Woolsey had announced his intention to go but an unfortunate accident resulted in a broken leg and General Landry had been assigned the task of selecting someone. Colonel Mitchell, he explained, had requested that Vala go, Sam and Teal'c backing him up.

General Landry was no fool. He knew how much each of SG-1 missed their teammate but he saw the sadness in Vala more often. The base shrink, Dr. Mackenzie had pointed out that while all of SG-1 had lost someone close to them previously, for Vala it was perhaps the first time she had lost someone that close to her. When the subject of Vala going to Atlantis had risen several days previously he had consulted Dr. Mackenzie who had backed the plan completely, as had Mr. Woolsey. The rest of SG-1 had been called up to his office to inform them of the decision to see how they reacted and while there was no mention of Daniel, Landry knew that he was on their minds as he talked.

Vala stared at him open mouthed as he explained that she would travel there, deliver the ZPM and would be expected to return within 4 hours. He dismissed her after informing her that she would leave the following morning. Slightly shocked she joined the others over the evening meal.

The following morning Vala was ready in the control room before the ZPM was. Every few minutes she'd glance at the clock willing time to go by a little faster. Ten minutes before her departure the ZPM showed up in a case carried by Sam. As Sam handed over the case she pressed something else into Vala's hand, smiled and wished her a great trip. Vala walked down to the 'gateroom clutching the case tightly, her other hand gripping the patch that Sam had given her.

"Jack asked me to give you this," was all she had whispered and Vala had known what it was.

She watched as the 'gate activated, the kawoosh much larger than usual, then began walking up the ramp towards the shimmering blue event horizon.

"Welcome back!" A bright voice greeted her the moment she stepped through.

"Hi Elizabeth." Vala stretched out her arm carrying the ZPM and Rodney came running from nowhere to take it. He offered his condolences before rushing off, Vala assumed to perform his own tests on the ZPM. Sam had suggested that he might do that.

Following Elizabeth, Vala climbed the stairs to the office smiling and nodding to Colonel Sheppard who was leaning against the door giving her a lopsided grin. She had several other items to deliver, one a hard drive full of information from the SGC for both Elizabeth and Sheppard which she handed over the moment she sat down. She was asked about Earth, those at the SGC and her experiences with fighting the Ori. Both eagerly listened and it wasn't long before conversation was flowing easily.

* * *

She had just under an hour before she was supposed to return and she knew where she wanted to go. Elizabeth seemed to know what she wanted and where she wanted to be and quietly gave her short directions to the balcony. There was no one around as she stepped through the door, hearing it close behind her.

It wasn't night this time and the view was spectacular. Not a cloud dotted the perfectly blue sky and the breeze was just enough to lift her hair off her shoulders. She placed her forearms on the ledge and leaned over slightly, much as she had done around two years previously. Closing her eyes she listened, the sound of the waves crashing into Atlantis sending new energy through her body. She felt the breeze catch her hair and gently toss it around and for a moment imagined that it was night and she wasn't alone.

She half expected Daniel to be there when she opened her eyes, that's how vivid the memory was to her. She smiled lovingly as she imagined what he'd be doing now if he was here. Slowly she lowered her head into her hands and cried, her tears falling over the balcony and down onto the city.

Elizabeth's voice calling for her from the doorway startled her back into reality. Without turning around she called in a falsely cheerful voice that she'd be right there. As she heard the door close behind her she pulled the patch out of her pocket. After placing a kiss on it she gently placed it underneath the railing her arms had rested on, where his once had. Only after making sure it was out of sight and wouldn't fall down she turned, taking one last look at the city, then walked towards the inside, wiping the traces of tears away.

He would always hold a place in her heart, that she knew without a doubt, but as she walked through the door she said goodbye to Daniel.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been nice weather when they stepped from the 'gate. Now five hours later it was pouring down, not a light drizzle but rain that fell to the ground in hard small plops, stinging their exposed skin as it fell.

Vala was grumpy. She hadn't been sleeping well the past few weeks and now she was cold and wet on an overnight mission. It had been the same for several months now, head off-world to look for some Ancient device that had been hidden by the Ori, go back home, study it briefly and head off world for yet another.

Ever since they arrived in their galaxy the Ori had been finding every Ancient artifact they could but instead of destroying them immediatly they had stored them on various planets waiting for either the Priors or perhaps Adria to destroy them personally. The ex-Ori soldiers had told them of the secret stores and most of the teams had been searching for them. So far the devices recovered had not been terribly useful with the exception of a few who had provided maps to other more interesting things like ZPM's and other technology. Several devices had been sent to Atlantis for further study, those usually involved shielding technology and had proved useful once or twice. Most gathered dust at the SGC or Area 51 until the scientists had time to get to them.

After Vala had returned from Atlantis SG-1 had been split up temporarily as they all worked in other projects. Teal'c went to the Jaffa for several weeks working with them and the Jaffa who had fallen for the Ori religion, bringing them all back together in an attempt to form a unified front in case something similar happened again. Ba'al had made a reappearance, though whether it was the real Ba'al or one of his many clones had yet to be determined. He had begun to claim territory again angering a few of the minor Goa'uld that still remained and a few disagreements had ended up with two teams captured. All had returned home thanks to Cam working with the Sodan and SG-26.

Sam had been off-world for what felt like weeks at a time trying to create an interface that would enable humans to fly and control the Ori ships. It was suspected that there were other Ori supergates out there and hopefully the Ori ships would tell them where they could find them.

Vala herself had been working hard on base and off world, translating. Her skill had improved continuously until now she didn't need as much assistance as she had earlier. She regularly carried some of Daniel's notes off world to use as quick references and had enjoyed the work immensely. However she looked forward to every mission with SG-1.

General Landry had made sure that every so often the team would have a mission together and it was evident to everyone that they enjoyed those times. Team get togethers still happened off base as often as they could schedule them, sometimes only Sam and Vala going out for a meal or to do some shopping. Recently Vala had received permission to live off-base but had yet to begin looking for a place to live.

That was when the dreams had started. She'd had them before but only had remembered small fragments and couldn't place the entire dream together but now they kept her up at night. Each time she had the dream it would change slightly. Sometimes it was when she was a child, others she could only imagine to be in the future. Always there was a woman's voice, deep and soft speaking to her, repeating the same word. 'Domii,' she would say. Vala remembered Tomin and Daniel speaking the same word and had looked it up. In Ancient it meant living, but the Latin deviation seemed to come from domire which was similar to sleeping while another translation meant home. The closest English translation she could find was dormant, as in not active, but not dead. Despite the fact that she ignored the dream it kept persisting and she was getting frustrated.

Vala smiled as Cam handed her a steaming bowl of something that probably would taste horrible but at least her hands were warm. She listened as the others discussed what the next move was and what their plans were after this mission. While she wanted to go back home, be warm and dry, this was what she missed, sitting off-world chatting with her teammates. As daylight darkened watches were arranged and she gleefully snuggled into her sleeping bag trying to warm her feet, hoping that this night she would get some sleep.

* * *

She woke too warm, surprised at how well the night had gone. She'd been woken by Sam for her shift, sat under a tree for just over an hour, then woken Teal'c for his watch. The rain had stopped during the first half of her night and while it wasn't cold, it hadn't been exactly warm either. She changed quickly inside the tent and feeling very refreshed from a few decent hours of sleep, crawled outside into the sunlight.

By the time they had finished they hadn't found any of the artifacts in one piece. It looked like a staff weapon had blasted them all turning most into heaps of useless charred metal and leaving others unrecognizable and useless. Sam was detecting very mild energy from one or two pieces but given their condition she doubted they would be of any use other than door stops. They began the half day trek back to the gate in hot temperatures, the sun beaming down on them helping them all to forget the miserable night before.

Vala groaned as Cam pointed out the dark ominous cloud in the distance and shivered at the thought of another downpour though from what Sam was saying this cloud looked like it could have potential to form a thunderstorm. Vala didn't mind watching lightning as long as she was close to a house or somewhere where she could go inside and warm up, out of the rain and hail that usually accompanied them. Sam estimated that they would be home before the storm hit and they turned their backs on it and continued back to the 'gate.

It moved fast, faster than Vala had expected or anyone else by the increasing pace. Now the sun was not shining on them and the air had a definite bite to it, a cool strong wind blasting them at their backs. It wasn't long before the rain started to fall again and within moments Vala was soaked. They had just started the hour or so long trek over a vast plain before they would reach the trees and about half an hour of forest to hike through before hitting the 'gate. There had been a small discussion about whether to continue or stop under the protection of the sparse trees they had left as Sam pointed out that if it turned out to produce lightning they would be the tallest things around while walking across the plain. Cam had responded by stating that if caught in a storm under a tree was not the safest spot.

A decision was quickly made to walk as fast as they could so they could get home before they found out how vicious this particular storm felt like being. Vala wasn't sure what had been the right decision as halfway across the plain the thunder began to boom behind them.

* * *

They had a quarter of the way to go and they were all running. The storm had caught up with them and every few seconds they saw intense flashes of light accompanied by thunder that shook Vala's insides. She'd never seen any storm quite this powerful and the way it seemed to chase them growing in ferocity with each yard was beginning to scare her. After Daniel's death she had spent a great deal of time contemplating death and any afterlife. Eventually she had managed to shake herself out of it and return to her old philosophy. When she died she'd find out and right now she wanted that to be many many years into the future. While there were stupider ways to die, she would rather die doing something heroic or brave, not running away from a storm hell bent on catching them.

They leapt into the trees and only slowed enough to be able to navigate around the debris of fallen branches and undergrowth. Sam tripped and fell with a yelp of pain and Teal'c immediately helped her stand and the two tried to catch up to Vala and Cam running ahead to dial the 'gate. The 'gate was in a small clearing and the moment Vala arrived she began punching in the address to get them home.

Before she registered what had happened she was falling forward and landed on the DHD, sliding off sideways her back warmer than it should've been. The lightning had struck very close by and the immediate crack of thunder had propelled her forward. Her ears still ringing she accepted Cam's hand and turned back to the DHD, punching in the last three symbols. As the 'gate was about to connect lightning struck their area. She had no idea how close as the intense light blinded her, the sonic boom of the thunder sending her to the ground again.

Still seeing multi coloured spots in her sight she called for Cam, slowly standing up. His forehead had a large gash on it and he looked a little dazed. She yelled at him to check if he was ok and he nodded in return. Sam and Teal'c emerged, Sam commenting on how close the last strike had been to the 'gate. Within moments lightning struck again, hitting the tree where they had just emerged, sparks and wooden splinters exploding through the air. As Teal'c and Sam joined them in front of the 'gate, Vala felt another lightning strike as the force knocked her through the event horizon.

* * *

She groaned as she picked herself up, pain flooding through her back, knees and arms. She opened her eyes cautiously when she felt something that definitely was not the cold hard surface of the ramp leading up to the 'gate at the SGC. She stood up slowly and looked around. The 'gate was almost entirely concealed by trees, the kawoosh from the opening wormhole looked like it had felled a few that stood in it's path. Wherever they were it wasn't home, nor the planet they had just been on and by looking around she guessed that no one had been here for a long time.

_AN: Forgive any creative license I took with the lightning and Latin translation... But where do you think they are???_


	7. Chapter 7

Standing, she looked around. Teal'c was moving towards Sam who was struggling to stand while there was no sight of Cam in the long grass that surrounded them. As she began to move towards Teal'c she took several steps before she spotted Cam lying face first, unmoving on the ground. Frantically she signalled the others that she'd found him and checked for a pulse. No sooner had she pulled her fingers away when she heard a groan beneath her and hastened to whisper in his ear to stay down and as quiet as possible.

Sam hobbled over with the assistance of Teal'c as Cam started to come around fully. He kicked his legs a few times before rolling over despite Sam telling him not to until she had checked for any spinal injuries. He had collected another gash on his forehead, several inches long where his head had connected with one of the branches that lay criss crossed over the ground. He reached for his first aid kit but Teal'c beat him to it, dressing the wound after cleaning the debris out of it.

Looking at each of her teammates Vala cautiously placed a hand to her throbbing cheek. Just as she had suspected there was blood and taking a closer inventory of herself found that it wasn't the only place. Cam's wound was the worst that they could see and for the moment her wounds could wait. They had no idea where they were but it certainly wasn't the SGC and definitely not the planet they had just left.

"Where are we?" Cam asked while blinking several times.

"Considering how hard we were thrown from the 'gate I assume that our wormhole was redirected here."

"Great, so all we have to do is find the DHD, dial, and head home then." Vala smiled brightly at Sam relived that the solution seemed easy. She was still soaking wet from the pelting rain on their previous location, which with the running had not cooled her considerably but now sitting in dim light surrounded by trees, a light breeze whipping around them, she was beginning to get cold.

"Yeah, but can anyone see it?" Cam drawled.

At first glance the DHD was nowhere to be seen but the trees and other plant life was so thick beyond where they were that it was difficult to see anything. Vala stood slowly, finger on the trigger of her gun ready for anything or anyone. As she turned she got a good look at the gate and paused. She'd glanced at it before but at that time was looking for her teammates after being spat unusually hard out of the 'gate and didn't notice. It was far paler than their normal Stargates, a light grey colour. She turned to call to Sam but saw that she was already standing gazing at it while Cam demanded to know what had caught their attention. Teal'c offered him a hand.

"Well that's new," he said.

"Teal'c have you ever...?" Sam trailed off as Teal'c jumped in.

"I have not Colonel Carter. Other than the Tollan and Atlantis Stargates all others have been the same colour and texture."

"Ok, Tollan, very advanced. Atlantis, in another galaxy. So we're either on an extremely advanced planet or in another galaxy?" While Cam was still keeping his voice down they could all hear the agitation in his voice.

"By the surroundings I doubt we're on a technologically advanced planet. No one has been here in a very long time, long enough for all these trees to grow around the 'gate. At one point, perhaps, but I don't think so anymore. As for another galaxy, we'd need massive amounts of..."

"Power," Vala interrupted. "Lightning struck very close several times as we were dialing." She tried to quash the slight sense of panic that had emerged within her.

"Should we not locate the DHD and attempt to dial Earth?" Teal'c's statement brought everyone's thoughts back to their first task and Vala was grateful. No need to begin speculating until they had determined whether or not they could get home.

Staying low as they had no idea if this planet was inhabited or not, they began to search for the DHD starting at the 'gate and walking outwards. Teal'c spotted it first, almost buried under old dead branches and vine like plants. He made quick work of uncovering it and Vala was mildly surprised to see that it was the same colour as the 'gate. Fortunately nothing seemed broken and Teal'c began dialing Earth.

The 'gate lit up, just as it always did, and after the seventh symbol had been pressed and the large red 'connect' pressed, Vala's heart sank as the 'gate failed to connect. Cam, impatient began dialing again, trying it several times before turning his back on it clearly frustrated. Sam immediately sat and began opening the control panel checking to see that everything was in it's place and working correctly. No one wanted to say the words they were all thinking.

An hour later, Sam announced that everything should be working fine, there was nothing wrong with the DHD that she could find. Eagerly Cam began dialing again with no result, trying many different addresses of known planets that would allow them safe passage.

"So we know the 'gate works, just not for any addresses we know. What else?" Vala had had enough. She wanted to go home and redialing addresses over and over wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"Lightning struck very close to the 'gate as you were dialing. Does anyone remember when?" Sam had not been at the DHD as Vala had begun to dial home.

"I punched in the first few symbols then it stuck very close. I was knocked over and then I finished dialing. There was another strike just as I was done and as before it knocked me and Cam to the ground. We ran for the wormhole and then you and Teal'c arrived." Cam nodded at Vala as she spoke, indicating that he didn't have anything to add.

"Did the lightning strike after the wormhole formed, during, or before?" Sam looked at both Cam and Vala.

Cam shook his head as Vala attempted to answer. "I'm not sure. Uh, all I remember was a bright light, being knocked to the ground, and having bright coloured blotches dance around my vision while my ears rang."

"So it's possible that the 'gate was struck as the wormhole was connecting."

"Yeah, I guess so. Why?"

"Did anyone notice the address dialed before we headed back through?" Sam ignored Cam's question instead asking another one.

Vala and Cam shook their heads as Teal'c responded verbally. "I did not Colonel Carter."

"Sam, where's this going?"

"Is it possible that at some point an extra chevron was pushed on the DHD and when the 'gate connected the lighting struck providing the energy needed to open an 8 chevron address? It would explain the large kawoosh that caused all these trees to fall further than they would have ordinarily and given that it is possible lightning struck again as we entered the event horizon, could explain our higher velocity exit on this end."

"So you think we're in another galaxy." Cam sank back down to a sitting position staring at the DHD.

"It's possible."

"So how do we get home?" While Vala had missed going off world regularly with her team, being stranded in another galaxy with them had not been a consideration to make up for that.

"I don't know," Sam shrugged her shoulders while her fingers traced one of the designs on the DHD.

"So now what?" Vala asked. "I don't know about you all but I'm cold, wet and hungry. We have no idea how long it's going to be light enough to see or how big this forest is that we're in. I suggest we take a few hours, rest, clean our wounds, eat and warm up."

Teal'c agreed with Vala. They had come out of the 'gate the least harmed as Sam was limping slightly and Cam had been knocked out for a minute or so. However they all wore splinters of the tree that had fragmented when the lightning had blown it apart and Vala wanted to clean them out especially if there wasn't an infirmary to go to within the next few hours.

In agreement the four of them worked to clear a suitable space to set up the two small tents and a small fire, enough to boil some of their little water for a warm meal. A little was kept for cleaning out wounds and when that was complete, watches agreed upon as one by one they crawled into their sleeping bags. Vala couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and the moment she rolled over, fell asleep. 


	8. Chapter 8

After a brief discussion SG-1 decided to begin trying to walk out of the forest and find civilization. Teal'c reminded them that they also needed to find a water source and their supplies were getting dangerously low. As the surrounding area was densely packed with trees it was hard to tell which way would lead them out quickest so they began walking directly from the Stargate hoping to find a path of sorts that would lead them somewhere.

It took several hours but eventually the trees began to thin and they could see the end. All were scratched on their legs from various trees, branches and thorns that bit them as they brushed passed. Vala wanted to get out as it had not been an easy walk, more like ploughing through all the foliage. The warmth from the sun began to beat down on them and they relished it after the cool of the forest.

The first building they came across was dilapidated and it was apparent that no one had been there for years. Wanting to find a clue to where they were, carefully they entered and as they walked dust followed in their wake. Vala sneezed several times before veering off to look at one of the rooms. She could hear Cam and Sam discussing in an argumentative fashion about where they could be as the house looked suspiciously like many they'd seen on worlds before.

She saw the book on the bed and her heart plummeted. Not again.

"I know where we are," Vala stated as she reentered what she assumed was a dining room to rejoin the others.

"Oh, and where are we then?" Cam glared at Sam.

"The Ori galaxy." Vala dropped the book of Origin on the table which prompted another cloud of dust to billow upwards and she sneezed again.

"Isn't it possible that Origin isn't just in the Ori galaxy anymore? I mean, they've had years since they found out about us to search for other galaxies," Cam asked.

Vala waited for Sam to answer. "Possible but not likely. We alerted the Ori to our presence in a different galaxy and the Ancients left us clues to find Atlantis. There's millions of galaxies out there but finding on that's inhabited would be difficult and would take time. I think the Ori concentrated all their efforts into converting us, I doubt they'd go off searching for others to conquer."

"Plus, Tomin never mentioned going to any other galaxies," Vala added.

"I too believe that we are in the Ori galaxy," Teal'c stated while glancing around the room.

"So now what's the plan?"

Sam exhaled before answering. "We need to find an energy source that can power the gate to get us home."

"Does that not require massive amounts of power, Colonel Carter?"

"That's where the finding part comes in. We need to find something..."

"Wait. When I was in Ver Isca the Ori instructed the destruction of anything Ancient. It happened, I'm assuming, on many places. They didn't want their followers getting ideas about them and anything slightly heretic was brought to the Priors, then destroyed. There were some people who kept the items secret, hiding them in houses, storage rooms, anywhere they could for safekeeping. Perhaps there is one here."

"Vala's got a point. If they have some Ancient technology here I might be able to use it to power the 'gate."

"Will there be enough, Sam?"

Sam turned to Cam who had taken a seat at the table. "I don't know. It depends on what they've kept."

"So we find a village and check things out." Cam seemed slightly relieved that they had a plan of sorts.

"You're forgetting something." Vala hated thinking about her time spent anywhere in the Ori galaxy and avoided speaking about it whenever she could but this was different. "It took me months to gain their trust and they almost killed me in the process."

"But it's different now, the Ori are gone. There's no Prior's to deal with, no beings with funky powers..."

"Colonel Mitchell, I believe Vala Mal Doran is correct."

"Thanks Teal'c. While we may have no Priors to deal with there will still be people on this planet who are devout followers of Origin. If we go bursting into their villages demanding to see their Ancient artifacts we could well end up burned alive."

"Ok, so who's got a plan?"

* * *

She hated these clothes with a passion. They were a reminder of the false life she had led for several months, memories of a simpler life with Tomin that went so horribly wrong. Despite the gun in her hand hidden by the cloak she wore, she felt disrobed, out of place, homesick. For the first time in months she allowed the thought of Daniel to cross her mind. If he was here now he'd be instructing them all on how to act, what to say, and providing them with the information they would need to keep their cover. She had done what she could, helping them dress appropriately, gathering copies of the Book of Origin for each, instructing them in the basics on how to speak and what to say.

Vala shook herself out of her daydreams. He wasn't here, it was up to them.

She glanced around at her teammates grinning slightly. Sam wore clothes similar to the ones she wore but a lighter colour. A dress down to the ground to hide their boots, sleeves down to their wrists to cover the watches and long sleeved jackets of the SGC, a cloak to ward off the chill in the air. Cam and Teal'c were dressed as farmers might. Long baggy pants made from a course material though Teal'c's had required some adjustments. They had not been able to find pants long enough so thanks to some superglue and a knife they'd lengthened them by attaching a piece of material close in colour. Vala hoped no one would get close enough to notice. Both wore long sleeved shirts and cloaks as well. The cloaks were perfect for hiding their weapons while they still held them.

Both Cam and Teal'c carried bags over their shoulders containing their belongings and some supplies. They had left the camping supplies back at the abandoned house as they did not want any locals guessing they weren't from the area. The plan was to find a village and pose as travellers looking for a place to stay and some information. Play it by ear, Cam had said. Vala hoped he knew what he was doing as they headed down a path that while not used recently had once been travelled often.

* * *

"And the people shall deliver unto you the wicked for your divine judgement, where their sins shall be weighed in the balance of all that is just and true."

As Vala heard those words spoken she began to shake. They'd found a village after an hour of trampling through grass waist high but found no people around to greet them. Cautiously entering they'd stayed to the sides of the buildings watching and listening for any indication of what was happening. Vala knew the instant she heard a male voice recite a passage from the Book of Origin that still haunted her.

"Vala," Sam hissed. "What is it?"

"The Altar."

"The what?" Cam asked turning from peeking around the corner. "All I can see is a bunch of people, well their backs anyways."

"That passage was read before they burned me to death. That's what we'll find when we go around this corner." Vala could still hear the monotone voice reading the scripture aloud and knew they didn't have much time. "There's probably some innocent person chained in the center of the altar and they're going to burn them to death for it and let me tell you it isn't exactly a pleasant way to go!"

"Vala, we can't just go tearing in there and demand they stop!"

"Then what do you suggest Colonel Mitchell?"

"Uh," Cam mumbled as he turned back to watch the crowd. "I can't see any weapons but that doesn't mean they... Hey!" Cam grabbed for Vala as she ran past him but missed.

"If not, may the fire burn you..."

"Stop." Vala ran through the crowd to the altar.

The man reading from the Book of Origin stopped and turned to stare at Vala.

"Have you come to speak for her?" He was referring to the young woman chained up, sobbing.

"Speak for her?"

"She has been touched by one who is evil and must be cleansed."

"You aren't cleansing her, you're killing her! I'm sure that whatever her crime is, well, except for a few specialized things, surely doesn't constitute death."

"Whoa, hey, what's going on here?" Cam followed by Sam and Teal'c joined Vala as the villagers began to back up.

"You would be wise to watch your companion." The man glared at Cam, then Vala.

"Oh, hey, don't mind us, we're just passing through. But I agree with my companion here, is it really necessary to kill this woman?"

"It is the will of the Ori. Hallowed are the Ori."

"Hallowed are the Ori," the villagers chanted in unison.

"The will of the Ori? The Ori are dead, they don't exist anymore."

"Vala," Cam warned Vala to stop what she was doing but she ignored him.

"When was the last time a Prior visited, the last time you witnessed a miracle performed by the Ori?"

"Vala," Cam warned her to stop what she was doing but she ignored him.

"It has been several seasons since we were last blessed with the presence of a Prior."

"Why are your men still here?" Sam asked.

"I do not understand." Vala was relieved that for now the man was not focused entirely on killing the woman.

"Every able bodied man that could be spared was sent on a crusade to convert another galaxy. They were defeated." Vala's voice dropped so low that only a few heard her.

"You lie." Suddenly Vala noticed several men bearing Ori staff weapons and turned to indicate it to the others but they all had their weapons out and aimed.

"She's telling the truth. We were there. As I said before we're just passing through. We're trying to find a way home and we thought here would be our best option to get the supplies we need and be on our way. If you fire upon us, we will fire back and I can't guarantee that no one will be killed." Cam's gun pointed directly at the man who so far seemed to be their leader.

"Blasphemy," the man hissed. "You shall pay for your sins." Another man joined him and handed him one of the staff weapons. He lowered it and began to aim at Vala who glared at him.

She blinked and almost missed it; Cam had shot the man in the arm and he fell backwards, dropping the staff weapon as he fell. Around them the villagers began muttering but no one moved except for the other four or five men laid down their staff weapons. Sam and Teal'c recovered the weapons and the villagers backed up to make a path for them.

"He'll live," Cam called to the villagers. "Just a small wound, we can fix him up. For now we just want some information and then we'll leave."

As Cam, backed by Sam began to talk to the villagers explaining the fate of the Ori, Vala and Teal'c freed the young woman. Vala wondered how long she had been chained at the altar as the woman stumbled before accepting help from Teal'c, fear or hunger making her entire body shake. Vala knew that the moment they left the village the woman would be killed. They'd have to take her with them.

It didn't take long before the crowd dispersed. A few remained to help treat their leader and one woman kindly offered clothing to the young lady who had been rescued. Vala thanked her and tried to get the lady to eat. Teal'c collected the staff weapons and after inspecting them found only one that was in working condition, the one that had been pointed at Vala. After a brief discussion the energy crystal was removed with the agreement that it would be given back to the villagers before they left.

The man patched up yet still in pain insisted on leaving and going to his home and as he left muttered about traitors and heretics. Vala rolled her eyes as she listened to him. She'd heard all this crap far too often and knew that he was one of those that would never believe their belief in the Ori was false. She focused back on the woman, now changed into fresh clothes and accepting water from Sam.

"Who are you?" Sam asked.

"I am Levia," she whispered.

"How old are you?" Vala couldn't help but ask as she couldn't be more than twenty and received a glare from Sam and puzzled look from Cam for asking.

"I do not know but it has been many years since I was married."

"Married?"

"My husband, Salath, died in an accident not long after we were joined."

Turning from Vala to Levia, Cam changed the subject. "So what happened out there?"

"They believe I have been possessed."

"Possessed?!" Vala yelled. "For what? Not participating in the prostration? Not saying your prayers properly, not..."

Cam shot Vala a warning look and Vala quietened. Since her own experiences involving the altar and finding many others built in their own galaxy the subject was one that always angered her. She knew her teammates understood why but sometimes she let the anger spill over and placing it on this probably innocent girl was not what she had in mind.

"There is a man who lives in solitude just outside the village. At one point he lived in the village but the elders decided that to stop his madness from spreading and he had to leave."

"If you believe that someone is possessed or a non believer is it not the usual practice to sacrifice them?" Teal'c commented from the opposite end of the room.

"He is protected by the Prior."

"I thought there hadn't been a Prior here for a long time?" Cam stood and began to pace, his fingers tracing along his weapon as if he was nervous.

"Several seasons ago the Prior brought him to our village and ordered us to care for him. We were told he was from another settlement but could not stay there and was a child of the Ori. We took him in, cared for him, tried to heal him but it didn't work. He had little memory of his life before coming here other than he was a teacher and had no family."

"So he had no memory and therefore was possessed?" Vala didn't think that the Ori would kick out a man for that.

"He was strange. At times he would be calm and friendly, at other times agitated and angry. He would spend hours debating the Book of Origin with the elders and there were times when I felt that he did not believe in Origin. He would be talking one minute then silent and sullen the next. During his sleep he would call out, yelling things, thrashing around. During the day he would change moods often, sometimes as if he was a different person. The elders claimed he harboured a demon and banished him from the village until the Prior returns to pass his judgement."

"Ok, so a crazy man. What does he have to do with you and..." Cam pointed outside indicating the black altar.

"I have been visiting him for the seasons since he was asked to leave. I take food, blankets and other supplies to him. Sometimes I stay and talk to him..." Levia trailed off looking at her hands as she fidgeted. Sam shared a dubious look with Vala and she knew that Sam was wondering the same thing. If this woman was having some kind of relationship with this man it could be the possible reason for her attempted murder.

"They tried to kill you for that?"

"After my husband's death I mourned him for many days. I completed my duties and returned to my home. I did not socialize with the other villagers only speaking a greeting when I saw them at work or prostration. When he arrived I was instructed to care for him, which I did with the help of others. He asked me many questions and I soon learned that he could be trusted. He wanted to see the village so I showed him around. He made me laugh when no one else would. After he left I continued to care for him in the hope that the Ori would heal him someday."

Vala didn't miss the use of past tense as she spoke of her prayers to the Ori. With any luck they'd be able to find a resistance much like she had on Ver Isca and possibly some Ancient artifacts that they could use to help them get home.

"It will be dark soon. If you wish to stay here for the night you may. There is an extra room upstairs..."

"Oh, no. That's great of you to offer but we're fine, really." Vala wanted to hit Cam. Sleeping indoors would be far better than outside in the cold.

"Please. It is not often that I have the opportunity to have company, plus you saved my life today. It is the least I can do."

Sam smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

"I must insist on one thing. I do not know your names."

Vala laughed and opened her mouth to introduce herself but Cam jumped in first. "Er, I'm Capricorn, this is Taurus, Sagittarius and er, Virgo."

"Thank you. If you wish to wash you may. I will have dinner prepared in a short while." Levia left as SG-1 sent questioning looks at Cam.

"Hey, I don't know if these folks know who we are by face or by name. I wasn't about to risk it." Vala realised that Cam made sense. While they had revealed their weapons their clothing had been hidden still.

"One thing though." Thinking over their day, Vala remembered something that had been mentioned earlier. "When I asked that leader about the amount of healthy men in this village and he was told about the war, he acted as though he didn't know anything about it. Is it possible that this is a world left mostly untouched by the Ori?"

"You mean as in they've got the religion but not much else?"

"The village is the same as the other Ori ones I've seen but none of the men were ordered to participate in the war. Could it be possible that the Ori forgot about this place?"

"No, I don't think so." Sam answered Vala taking a seat at the table. "They said a Prior had been here within the last few seasons. It had to be before Adria's death."

When Levia returned to announce that hot water would be ready soon, the conversation ceased. As Levia discovered that they had no other clothes than the ones they wore she offered several dresses to Sam and Vala and some of her husbands clothes to Cam and Teal'c. Again Teal'c's clothing was too small but with the superglue and needle and thread they managed to make something suitable for him. Vala guessed that by now Levia had to have suspicions about where they were from but was keeping it to herself.

The evening was pleasant, hot tasty food filling them up far better than MRE's. As the wind began to howl outside Vala climbed into the bed that she and Sam were sharing as the boys slept downstairs, thankful that they had accepted Levia's offer.

* * *

Shortly after breakfast Levia mentioned that she had to visit Domic, the man whom she'd been helping. SG-1 offered to go with her and informed her that where they came from there were treatments available for illnesses that could be mistaken for demon possession. They'd had the discussion the night before with both Cam and Sam explaining the variety of illness and diseases that could give someone that idea. If they could help this man so he could return to the village they should. Levia accepted their offer and in the crisp early morning they began the walk from the village.

It was a half an hour walk in the opposite direction than they had arrived the previous day. A small patch of trees with what seemed to be blankets attached and scattered belongings littered the ground. As they approached the tent like creation Levia informed them that she would see if Domic was awake before introducing them all. As they waited Vala's eyes wandered and she spotted several carvings on trees, some she recognized, many she didn't. Ancient was one of them, Goa'uld another. Before she could point it out to the others Levia emerged with a man following her. Immediately Vala aimed her weapon at him.

It was Daniel.


	9. Chapter 9

_Spoilers for: Quest pt 2, The Shroud, Dominion._

"Please do not harm him," Levia cried.

Vala wanted to look around to see what her teammates reactions where but as she would need to turn around to see them she didn't, staring straight at Daniel weapon aimed squarely on him. His eyes darted back and forth, his hands raised in surrender. Cam moved forward to pull Levia out of harms way and Vala was glad to see that he too had his weapon ready to fire at Daniel.

"Daniel?" Sam almost whispered. Daniel did not react to his name so she repeated a little louder. When he didn't respond to that either Teal'c questioned him about his age, name and past.

"What is your name?"

"Domic."

"How old are you?"

"I don't know."

"Where is your home?"

"Another village. I was a teacher and I was brought here by a Prior to teach."

As Teal'c asked, Cam checked Daniel for weapons and after announcing he was unarmed both Sam and Teal'c lowered their guns. Vala hesitated before following their lead.

"Who are you?"

"Domic, this is Capricorn, Taurus..."

"Daniel, it's me, Sam. This is Cam, Teal'c and Vala." Sam spoke over Levia hoping that their real names would help him to remember.

Levia gasped. "I know those names."

"How?" Demanded Teal'c.

"Sometimes during his sleep he would call out those names." Levia stared at Daniel while he nervously looked around at everyone.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you. I don't recognize those names. You must have me mistaken for someone else."

"You are Daniel Jackson, once a member of our team," Teal'c stated in his deep voice.

"Once?"

"You died several months ago."

At this news Daniel's face paled a little before he began offering his condolences for the loss of their teammate while insisting that he was not who they believed him to be. It was Levia who began asking who this Daniel was and SG-1 gladly began to inform her, each telling a piece of the story starting with his participation in the Stargate program. They didn't go into detail as it would take too long, but skipped over their various battles with the Goa'uld and Replicators before beginning on the Ori. As Vala seemed reluctant to go into any detail about her and Daniel's trip to the Ori galaxy, Cam made light of it. It wasn't until the story reached where Daniel had Merlin's consciousness downloaded into his brain that they hesitated.

"Who is this Adria?" Asked Levia.

"Perhaps you would know her as the Orici. She captured Daniel Jackson and turned him into a Prior in an attempt to defeat the Ancients in our own galaxy."

Teal'c paused as he watched understanding flood Daniel's face before being replaced with the look of disbelief he'd been wearing so far. "So what happened then?"

Vala glanced over at Teal'c and he nodded his confirmation that he had seen a slight change in Daniel's expression too.

"Merlin put some kind of safeguard on you and when you de-priorized you also lost Merlin's consciousness and reverted into just being you again," Cam filled in not noticing the exchange of glances going on behind him. "Adria went back through the Supergate to this galaxy with the weapon armed and ready to go."

"Then what happened?" Levia was enthralled by the tale.

"Not much."

"What Cam means is that the weapon didn't have the effect we wanted it to. Adria returned to our galaxy where she eventually ascended, then regained her half human half Ori form and led the final push to convert our entire galaxy or kill us all." Sam heaved a sigh at the memories.

"So this Daniel was killed in the war?" Daniel asked and for the first time looked directly at Vala.

"No. The war was over, we'd won. It was during the cleanup after."

In the silence that followed Vala turned and walked away from the group needing to take her eyes of this man who looked just like her Daniel had. Sam followed her and asked her what she thought of the situation.

"It's a trick."

"A trick?"

"That is not our Daniel," Vala hissed pointing behind her as she spoke.

"Vala..."

"Sam, is it possible that after Adria ascended or when she returned she accessed the information from Ba'al and somehow cloned Daniel?"

"Uh, not too sure. It's possible but she would've needed Daniel for that and how did he get here? From what Levia has told us he's been here for a while, perhaps even from before Ba'al took Adria as a host."

"So you're saying it's not a clone?"

"Vala, I don't know what to think right now. It could be, but we wouldn't be able to do further tests until we got back to the SGC."

"What about it's memory loss? Could it have something to do with the Others? Didn't they do this to Daniel once?" Vala fired off the questions rapidly as Sam ran her hands through her hair before responding quietly.

"Daniel was returned to human form by the Others after he ascended and broke their rules. They wiped his memory clean and it came back thankfully but Daniel didn't ascend this time, he died and we buried him. It's possible that the Others might've had something to do with this but I doubt it. He ended up here, in the Ori galaxy and the Others wouldn't have come here interfering."

"What's the plan then?" Cam snuck up behind them making them both jump.

"I can't figure this out here, we need to find a way back home. Once we're there we can figure out what happened to Daniel."

"Fine. What do we do about it until then?" If anyone noticed Vala's refusal to call him by name no one commented.

"We drop it, the whole thing. Tell 'em we want to go home and leave it at that. This Daniel seems pretty spooked by this whole thing and I doubt he's going to run anywhere as there's nowhere close by to run to. If we back off we won't have to find out how much knowledge this Daniel has of survival skills."

Sam nodded as Cam spoke as Vala stared stoically ahead.

During the journey back to the village everyone fell silent as they sank deep into their own thoughts. The crease in Cam's forehead, the way Sam's eyes darted back and forth while she seemed not to be seeing anything, the way the muscles in Teal's face contracted as he set his jaw. Vala watched her teammates knowing at some point they'd begin to do the same to her and by then she wondered if she would have a clue as to what she was thinking about this situation.

Back at Levia's house SG-1 sat at the table and Cam asked the question they'd all been wondering about the answer for.

"So that was Daniel right?"

"Domic does appear to be Daniel Jackson yet they can not be the same."

"Teal'c's right. Our Daniel was Daniel otherwise Dr. Lam would've noticed something."

"Well, there was that whole Prior thing. Maybe that did something to him." Cam stated while watching Vala out of the corner of his eye.

"We can't be sure of anything until we get him back to the SGC." Sam rested her head in her hands.

"No," Vala almost shouted, startling the others. "Adria has something to do with this and that's exactly what she'd expect us to do. Take it back and..."

"I thought of that. We'd need to get Daniel, I mean Domic, to the SGC and do some tests to determine if he really is Daniel." Vala watched as Sam frowned and focused on the table.

"Well it's good that we've got some ideas for that but lets solve the whole going home thing first otherwise we aren't going to have to worry about taking Daniel back."

"Back?" Levia had been standing in the shadow of the doorway and no one had seen her there.

"Levia, we think that Domic is the same as our Daniel but we need to take him home with us to prove it."

"You can't take him. The Prior will return and be angry that we disobeyed him," Levia pleaded with Sam.

Vala felt her anger stirring up inside. The moment she had recognized Daniel there had been a moment of shock quickly followed by anger. Why that emotion she wasn't able to figure out yet, but had pushed it aside hoping to have a few moments to herself later to figure it out. Now the events of the past two days, with the arrival in the Ori village to see some poor woman go through what she had then to see someone whom she assumed she'd never see again, forced all her anger, sadness and stress to the surface.

"Don't you understand? The Ori are gone. They were never gods, just powerful beings who pretended they were." Vala stood abruptly, her legs catching on the table as she did, and turned back to her teammates. "That thing isn't Daniel. In case you forgot, he died. He didn't ascend, we buried him. This is some kind of horrible trick of Adria's that she probably had for me or to get inside the SGC or something. We can't take it back as we'll be risking our lives or maybe the entire planet. For now he's stuck here with no memory and I suggest we keep it that way."

She didn't need to turn around to know that Cam and Sam were staring at her retreating back, mouths agape while Teal'c would be sitting straight his ever watchful eyes taking in the reactions of everyone. Once in the room she was sharing with Sam she sank onto the low bed and lowered her head into her arms. When she closed her eyes the image of Domic staring at her while she aimed her weapon at him burned into her mind.


	10. Chapter 10

She woke to find the room empty and assumed that Sam had already woken. Surprised that she hadn't heard her come in or leave, Vala hastily got up and pulled on the clothes she assumed Levia had left out for her. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of the dress and hoped it wouldn't be long before they were home.

Downstairs she joined everyone else as they ate breakfast. Sam quietly commented to her that they hadn't woken her as she had been sleeping and they'd all noticed that it wasn't something she was doing too well lately. Smiling, Vala accepted the plate of food from Levia and hoped that her outburst the night before would have been forgotten, just the way she had said it and not the words.

After breakfast was finished Sam brought up the issue of leaving and how to go about it as Levia excused herself.

"We need power, basically. This gate looks like our own enough that we can dial manually but to 'gate back home to Earth will require immense power." Sam glanced around at the others watching their expressions as they thought.

"So like lightning?" Vala asked remembering how they'd arrived.

"Yes but getting lightning to strike the 'gate directly without harming us and the lightning would have to strike the same spot a few times to sustain the wormhole long enough to get us home unless we could find something to store the energy."

"Vala, when you were in the Ori galaxy didn't you say that the village had a store of Ancient stuff that the villagers had salvaged?" Cam spoke quietly.

"Yes, but it wasn't much. The communication device was found by sheer luck. From what I was told most larger devices were destroyed as they were much harder to hide."

"What about the Ori staff weapons? We saw they had some here. Couldn't we get some folk to fire at the 'gate repeatedly until we left?"

"I don't think it'd work." Sam answered Cam while Teal'c shifted from sitting to pacing.

"Colonel Carter, how many would be required?"

"I don't know. We'd need them to be firing at the 'gate and hitting the 'gate constantly for the duration of the wormhole formation and while we headed through the event horizon. I'd say at least five firing simultaneously and several groups to overlap and ensure that the power doesn't drop too low."

"What about other options?"

Cam turned to Vala, intrigued. "Like what?"

"Ships. If the Ori left any unfinished ships here perhaps we can try and fly them home or use one of their smaller crafts. At least then one person would be able to get back to Earth and alert the SGC that we're here."

"But how do we fly the ships? Sam hadn't been able to get one to fly by the time we left."

"Close though," jumped in Sam.

"What is it you seek?" Levia had returned and overheard the conversation.

"Oh, nothing," Cam quickly spoke. "I thought you left?"

"I forgot something," Levia mumbled.

Vala, convinced she had been eavesdropping decided to move things along. "The last time I was in an Ori village there were a group of resistors, conspiring against the Ori." When Levia looked squarely into her eyes before dropping them back to the floor, her hands fidgeting with the Book of Origin she was holding, Vala knew that there was a similar group here. "They kept items deemed heretical by the Priors, saving them in the hope that they could use them against the Ori. Do you know anything about it?"

As Levia stumbled over a way to answer, Vala watched as Cam sat up a little straighter.

"Anything you could tell us would not be repeated to the other villagers," he added hoping to reassure her.

"The Prior has not visited for many months and there are several items that we are awaiting instructions for." Levia whispered it so quietly that Vala, who was standing right in front of her, was the only one who heard.

"Where?"

"I'll show you but not now. Tonight when the village is quiet."

For the rest of the evening Levia made herself scarce and Vala was concerned that she might be rethinking her decision to take them to wherever the artifacts were. They'd taken a long walk through the village hoping to pick up energy readings to indicate where the items were being stored but they found nothing. Returning to Levia's and not finding her there, SG-1 decided to stay and wait a while for her, starting up a fire in the abandoned fireplace and preparing supper with their few MRE's that they had brought with them.

It was much later when Levia returned, scaring Vala as the door opened. Within seconds SG-1 had their weapons pointed at the door but hastily lowered them when Levia stepped through, eyes wide in shock. She explained that she had gone to visit Domic and they had lost track of time talking about what SG-1 had told them both the previous day. Vala frowned wondering why none of them had been invited as they would obviously be a better source of information. A slight feeling of alienation swept over Vala as she remembered the close bond they had all shared with Daniel. Now it was different as he didn't know them, didn't understand that he could trust them with his life and his memories. She quickly shook herself out of her thoughts reminding herself that this wasn't Daniel, merely a shell of him.

The air had a chilling bite to it as they left the house in the dark of the night. Following Levia, weapons drawn and without the aid of flashlights they sneaked through the streets wearing their normal off-world uniforms as the clothes they had borrowed were lighter in colour and make them easier to see. They left the village heading towards where Daniel was currently living. Vala shivered and wondered how he would be faring on such a chilly night. True, they'd endured worse off-world but they had usually had the gear needed to keep them warm, here he had nothing.

"Here." Levia's soft voice shook Vala out of her musings.

"Alright. Let's go in." Cam moved to open the door of the small shed and pulled his hand back quickly as a white glow shone from where his hand had just been. "Ow."

"It is guarded by the Ori. Only true believers may enter."

"Cam, try that again," Sam commented not responding to Levia's remark.

"Why? That hurt!"

"It's an Ori shield but I'm not picking up any energy readings, well none that could be the shield and then they're only very small. It could be something inside so I think you have to activate the shield in order for me to see where it's powered and if we can turn it off."

Cam grumbled a little before flailing his arm out and hitting the shield again causing it to flare up again.

"Almost had it..."

"Colonel Mitchell, perhaps this will be of some assistance." Teal'c handed Cam a branch while he glared at Sam who was engrossed in the readings.

"Yeah, thanks Teal'c." Cam proceeded to strike the shield with the small branch as Sam and Vala located the control panel. It didn't take Sam long to deactivate the shield and Levia watched, wide-eyed. Not for the first time Vala wondered exactly what Levia thought of the Ori. She often came across as someone who didn't buy into the Ori 'religion' while at others acted as a devoted believer. Vala assumed that the confusion was due to Levia having to act a certain way for most of her life.

As Cam opened the door to the shed slowly, a loud creaking ripping through the silence, Sam shone her flashlight inside revealing a mound of shiny objects reflecting the light back at them. Stepping inside Vala took a breath as the amount of objects was one of the most varied she had seen. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of items, most she didn't recognize and she felt her fingers itch to begin sorting through them.

"Stop!" She yelled as Cam reached for a small device close to his foot. "We don't know if any of this stuff still works or what it does."

"Vala's right," Sam added. "Until we've had a chance to go through some of this and determine if anything is activated or still powered I don't want anyone touching anything." As Sam spoke she crouched down, using one of her many gadgets to determine if the item that had peaked Cam's interest was active.

"None of us have the ATA gene so what does it matter?" Cam argued.

"Someone might've unknowingly activated them so they could still do damage to you. I'd rather wait and test what we've got before you touch something and end up in another galaxy..."

"That's it!" Vala shouted, interrupting Sam.

"What?"

"Another galaxy. What if we could..." Vala trailed off as she ignored her own warning and began rummaging through the mound of artifacts, knocking them aside in her haste.

"Vala, didn't you just say...?"

"Cam, I might've found us a way home, I just need to see if there's one here," Vala spoke over the clatter of objects hitting each other and the ground.

"One what?"

"Ah, this." Vala turned and smiled at Teal'c, Sam and Cam holding an object that looked all too familiar.


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: Sorry for the lack of chapters recently... Had some issues with writing this chapter and couldn't get it to go where I wanted._

"Nuh-uh," exclaimed Cam the moment he recognized what he saw Vala holding.

"How can you say that when you haven't even heard what I'm thinking?" Vala stared back at Cam, perching the heavy object on top of the stack of artifacts she had found in buried in.

"Vala might have an idea."

"See!" Vala waved her arm in Sam's direction. "Wait, are we talking about the same idea here?"

"We are if you're thinking we try to use the communications device to let the SGC know where we are."

Vala crossed her arms and glared defiantly at Cam.

"The last time we tried to use one of those, you almost died."

"I did die, Cameron, and I have no intention of doing it again." Vala glared at Cam who frowned briefly while Sam spoke.

"We've theorised that anyone who has handled the stones could potentially be a link. Unfortunately we've never had a chance to test it out properly, but we think that in order to use the device as an effective means of communication the Ancients would've programed the stones to react to certain devices scattered across the galaxies and planets."

"Colonel Carter, I believe Dr. McKay successfully used such a device to travel within the Pegasus Galaxy."

"Yes, he did." Sam cringed as she remembered. "But that's where the risk lies. Rodney ended up on a planet controlled by the Wraith and it was pure luck that there was another device there, complete with stones that he was able to use to return to his own body in Atlantis."

"Ok, one minute... You're suggesting we use this device to try and contact the SGC not having a clue where we'll end up, only to hope that there's another device on the other end that we can use to return to our own bodies."

"Yes," Vala answered the same moment Sam answered, "sort of."

"First we need to find the stones, then we need a 'gate address."

"Why?" Vala asked Sam.

"When you and Daniel were stuck in the Ori galaxy we stopped the connection to bring you back to your own bodies by destroying the device in the kawoosh of the opening wormhole. We still are unsure what the effects would be to you if we shot the device using an energy weapon or one of our own. The device that was found in Atlantis was destroyed after a Wraith used another device to travel into Atlantis. We didn't have the chance to do any further study on it."

"Tomin shot the device I was using when I warned you of the crusade," Vala said softly.

"We have an Ori staff weapon." For the first time Cam seemed to be on board with the potential plan.

"So we just need the stones."

* * *

It took two days for Vala to find a stone that could be used in the Ancient communications device. Two tedious days of sorting and resorting through what felt like mounds of useless junk looking for a smooth object slightly smaller than the palm of her hand, most likely a dark blue or black colour. She and Teal'c had searched in the shed where they found the communications device while Sam and Cam had searched through what Levia had called the village archives. Sam guessed that the Ori had ransacked the building years before and very few people had been there since. The dust had been thick and the mess made it difficult to know where to start.

None of the villagers had protested what they were doing in the village, and Vala assumed that they would only become irate if they knew what she and Teal'c had been doing. Levia had told the locals that Teal'c and Vala were exploring the area, while Cam and Sam were looking for the history of the Ori. As a group SG-1 had attended two prostrations, none as long as the first one Vala and Daniel had attended, but they did so to keep suspicions as low as possible.

During the two days they had visited Domic but Vala had only gone once. Seeing Daniel's face staring back at her, no recognition registering in his expressions, the vivid shine in his eyes as he learned something new absent, the lack of his off tangent stories, unsettled Vala. She knew Adria had something to do with Domic's appearance and not just his physical one. The rest of SG-1, while they remained slightly skeptical about Domic, told him stories of who Daniel was, what he had done, friends he had made and the life he had lived with them.

Halfway back to the village on the second night after finding one lone stone, Vala asked Teal'c what his opinion of Domic was.

"Do you think he's Daniel?"

"I do not."

"Why?"

"Daniel Jackson died and I was present at the Tau'ri ritual for such an occasion, as were you."

"But didn't some part of you think he might have lived?"

"Does it not for all we mourn?"

"Yes, but this is different. You knew Daniel for years and in that time he died how many times?"

Teal'c didn't answer and Vala instinctively knew he had bowed his head in agreement.

"So you don't think that this thing is anything like our Daniel?"

"He is not the Daniel Jackson we mourn on Earth."

"So you're saying that there's no possible way that this man is Daniel?"

"I have seen many things I once thought impossible."

Vala fell silent pondering Teal'c's words. She had wanted an outright answer on whether or not Teal'c thought Daniel and Domic were somehow the same. To her it sounded like Teal'c was unsure and that gave her some comfort. At least one other person had reservations about Domic.

* * *

"We only need one." Vala watched as Sam placed the stone on the table as Cam commented on their lack of stones.

"Cam, it would've been nice to find three or four but even two was a stretch."

"We found one, that's all that matters." Vala reasserted her position. Cam was being fairly vocal about his reluctance to only have one person going even though Sam pointed out that there was no guarantee they would end up in the same place.

"So now it comes down to who goes," Cam stated.

"Yes, that's one of the things to be discussed," Sam agreed.

"I believe Colonel Carter should embark on this mission." When Teal'c received a glare from Vala, curious stare from Cam and a raised eyebrow from Sam he continued. "If there is a Stargate and it requires some repair Colonel Carter is the best equipped to deal with such a circumstance."

"I have done this before, twice. I've got the experience and besides, who knows where you'll end up. I might need to trade or barter for a way back to Earth." Vala didn't want to be on this planet any longer than necessary and this seemed like a good chance to get away. Plus, she reasoned with herself, she did have a great deal of experience with other planets and she might arrive on a planet she knew.

"I'm with Teal'c. I think Sam should go," said Cam with a slight apologetic look at Vala. "Besides," he added, "if this doesn't work for some reason or another, there's an entire library full of books written in Ancient that could help us get home or at least figure out how to power the gate. I can't read that!"

"Ok. One other thing though. We need a 'gate address or our location in this galaxy. If Sam gets to Earth she'll need to give them somewhere to send the supplies we'll need to 'gate back home."

* * *

The following day SG-1 was no further in finding their location or a 'gate address. None of the written materials they'd gone through so far bore any markings or symbols similar to those on the DHD and Sam was reluctant to begin asking the population if they knew anything. It wasn't until after darkness had fallen and they had returned to Levia's house that Vala remembered something.

"Domic," she announced suddenly receiving a raised eyebrow from Teal'c. "When we first went out there, the markings..." Vala trailed off, trying to remember exactly what she had seen.

"Markings?" Cam frowned.

"Didn't you notice? There were markings on the trees and scratched into the rocks. I didn't really pay closer attention at the time and I can't remember if they were 7 or 8 symbols long, but there were definitely symbols that I recognize."

"And you're remembering this now?"

"Cam, she's right. I saw something too but at the time I was more occupied with Domic, or Daniel, dealing with the fact that he is alive." Sam paused as the noise level outside increased suddenly.

Cam strode over to the window and peered out, beckoning the others to follow. Illuminated by the flickering lights from the houses a crowd lead by the man who had been reciting the book of Ori at the Altar was heading their direction. When the group stopped in front of the house someone was shoved forward. Vala cringed as she recognized Levia hitting the ground.

Cam and Teal'c stood positioned at the door ready for anyone entering, or for a quick exit. Sam and Vala stood by the window ready to provide cover fire if necessary. Vala cursed the dim light as she was not able to see clearly if they were armed or not. While there were one or two staff weapons visible she had no idea if the locals knew how to use them.

"Children of the Ori, we are being tested in our faith," spoke the leader. "We followed the Prior's instructions and gave a man shelter in our village but he began to spread his madness. When we attempted to stop the spread, more strangers arrived. We must be rid of these non-believers to return to the path of the Ori." As he paused a roar of approval flowed through the crowd.

"They have stolen items deemed heretical by the Priors and shall lead us all down their evil path. If they repent of their sins the Ori may save them, if not they shall be cast into the fire."

"What's the plan?" Vala asked quietly as she rolled her eyes at the speech.

"If it comes down to it, we've got the advantage as far as weapons."

"Colonel Mitchell, I do not believe they will attempt to fire upon us." Teal'c indicated through the window as several men with torches approached the house.

"Setting the house on fire? Isn't that a little..." began Cam

"Slow, yes, but gives us some time," Sam pointed out. "Teal'c, Vala, can you grab the communications device, I've got the stone.." She trailed off as each person jumped into action, stripping off their lightly coloured borrowed clothes to reveal the darker SGC uniforms they had continued to wear underneath.

"Window?" Asked Cam pointing towards the rear of the house. It was small and Vala wondered momentarily if Teal'c would be able to squeeze himself through.

"Ok, we'll get out of here, then Sam and I will go get Levia. Teal'c, Vala, start heading in Daniel's direction. We'll catch up."

Cam used the butt of his weapon to smash through the glass in the window. Sam was the first to go through and after calling back that all was clear, Cam joined her, taking a little longer and wriggling to get through. They passed the communications device through with a little difficulty, then Vala followed. Teal'c climbed through legs first but when he squeezed his shoulders through scraped the skin off his arms.

"Colonel Mitchell, as I was exiting I heard the door open," Teal'c stated the moment he was on his feet.

Immediately Vala peeked through the window, gasping at what she saw.

"Vala?" Cam tried to move her aside to see for himself. Levia had been thrown onto the ground inside the door and the flames were beginning to lick at the wood towards the front of the house. Cam swore as Vala began climbing back inside.

"We can't leave her there!" She exclaimed, mistaking the expression on his face.

"Sam," he called as he helped Vala into the house.

"Yes?" She asked as he cupped his hand to use as a step. Understanding immediately, Sam followed Vala into the house. It would take them far less time to climb in, drag Levia back to the window, and climb out than the broad shouldered men.

Sam swung her feet through and landed feeling the heat from the fire and the smoke stinging her eyes. She spotted Vala crouching by Levia, staring at the flames, a blank look on her face.

"Vala," she yelled and receiving no response, shook her none too gently. Vala's head whipped back around and Sam could see the fear and shock in her eyes but Vala blinked, looked at Levia and seemed to come back to the situation. After Sam checked for any obvious injuries, between the two of them they lifted Levia and carried her back to the window. The smoke was thicker making Vala's eyes stream and cough until she thought she'd drop Levia. Time passed as though in slow motion until they reached the window and lifted Levia out, feet first. Vala clambered out as fast as she could, landing in an undignified heap on the ground, Sam right behind her.

Teal'c lifted the still unconscious Levia into his arms as Cam began to try and lift the communications device by himself. Vala, wiping the tears from the smoke from her eyes, grabbed the other side and they ran away from the burning house, Sam watching their six.

"Next time, how 'bout we leave through the door?" Gasped Vala as they ran into the night.

Levia stirred as the pace slowed from a run to a walk and the burning house was blazing in the distance. Teal'c gently set her down while Sam did another check for injuries, this one more thorough than the one she'd done in the burning building.

"Why are you not dead? Why did you not repent for what we have done?" She asked as Sam held gauze to the gash on the side of her head.

Expecting an outburst from Vala, Cam jumped in quickly. "The items that were stashed away are useful. They were left by the Ancients and where we're from we use them. We need to use this device to find a way back home. From our point of view, we haven't done anything wrong." Except not take better care of Levia, Cam thought to himself.

"Then why did you not leave through the door, pretend to repent? If you do not believe in Origin..." Levia trailed off.

"Had we vacated the building in such a manner, I believe lives may have been lost," stated Teal'c. "It would not have been a peaceful confrontation. We did not realise that you would be placed in such danger and for that we apologize."

Sam nodded her agreement as she finished cleaning the various cuts on Levia's arms and face. None of them were deep enough to require stitches and thus far Sam suspected the woman may have a mild concussion but no further injuries. Turning towards Vala she noticed her teammate staring back towards the village, a similar look of shock on her face as she had been wearing inside the burning house.

Sam edged closer to Vala and spoke quietly. "You ok?"

"Hmm?" Vala turned towards Sam before returning her gaze to the village. "I'm fine. Really."

Despite Vala's words Sam knew that the fire had bothered her. She couldn't really blame her either, not after being burned to death once but seeing Vala's reluctance to talk at the moment Sam dropped the subject as Teal'c helped Levia to her feet.

"Where are we going?" Levia inquired.

"To pay a visit to Daniel, er I mean Domic," Cam announced. "Then we're going to see if we can go home."

Levia began walking quickly ahead into the darkness. "Then we must hurry. The villagers will most likely be heading this way once the fire has done it's work."


	12. Chapter 12

Approaching quietly and not wanting to scare Domic, Levia was sent ahead to wake him as SG-1 began scanning the tree trunks and rocks surrounding the little camp. By the time Domic was awake and walking around they had written down what could possibly be 3 addresses, all 7 symbols long.

"We cannot stay here," said Levia with a hint of fear in her voice. "They will come here next and when they find us.."

"They won't. We'll be gone by then." Cam assured her.

"We should return to the Stargate," announced Teal'c receiving nods of agreement.

"What about them?" Vala asked quietly not wanting Domic and Levia to hear.

"Daniel is coming with us," Cam stated firmly.

"We can't leave her here. The moment the villagers find her, they'll put her right back on the altar and burn her to death." Vala shuddered and she could still smell the smoke lingering around her from earlier.

Sam looked at Cam briefly before speaking. "She can come with us. It might help Daniel to have a familiar face around."

"Ok, I'll let them know." Cam called over to Domic and Levia telling them to grab only what was necessary, warm clothes, food but nothing large or too heavy for a long walk. Within a few minutes they were ready to leave and began the long trek back to the village under the cover of night.

They skirted around the village just in case there was a straggler or someone watching for them to return. Carrying the Ancient communications device wasn't easy as it was cumbersome and became tiring after a while so they took turns, two at a time. While Levia was healthy she tired after walking too long and the group took frequent breaks to allow her and Domic to rest. When Vala saw the abandoned house that they had reached on their second day on the planet she felt a small wave of relief flood her. They had a plan, they could be going home away from this place.

At the small clearing in the forest created by SG-1's arrival, Vala couldn't bring herself to relax one iota. Every nerve felt like it was humming and she felt her limbs shaking from a rush of energy. She paused and looked around carefully as the others placed their gear on the ground and carefully lowered the communications device onto the grass. She glanced around watching her teammates for little tells that would indicate if they were agitated or wary and sometimes what was causing it. She took in Teal'c's stance, ever ready for a fight, and watched his eyes flicker around the trees looking for trouble. He caught her stare and nodded slightly telling Vala that he too was unsure about this place.

Sam was busy with the DHD, the piece of paper they'd scribbled down the potential gate addresses in one hand as she pointed out to Cam the corresponding symbols. Her other hand, while relaxed, still held her weapon, her finger on the trigger. While Cam didn't necessarily look ready for an attack at that exact moment there was a rigidity about him that made it aware to all that he was far from relaxed. Meanwhile Domic and Levia had flopped down onto the grass, Levia removing her uncomfortable shoes, Domic resting against the tree looking around curiously.

Cam turned towards her helping her tear her eyes of this man who seemed to be Daniel. "We're going to try these addresses and if we connect send something through."

As Teal'c and Sam began going through their belongings for items that they wouldn't need and could send, Cam began to re-explain to Levia and Domic what they were doing. As he began talking about the communications device Vala found her mind wandering.

If this plan worked what would that mean for Daniel? What would the SGC do with a clone? If this clone was a result of Adria's fiddling Vala doubted the SGC would allow him to leave the base ever or if he had been programmed to do damage when he arrived in their galaxy how long he would be allowed to live. Would he ever regain his memory or was he doomed to be the shell of the man she once loved?

She glanced at Domic who was watching Cam with keen interest, taking in everything that was said, and for a moment imagined she was by Daniel's side on a mission while he learned something new, the same fascinated look encompassing his face. She felt something inside twist and her eyes began to fill up. Taking a few deep breaths she looked away, reminding herself firmly that Daniel was gone, had been for far too long.

"Vala?"

"Hmm?" She had been so immersed in her thoughts she hadn't heard Sam talking to her.

"Sorry, you looked a little lost there for a moment."

"Yes, a little."

Vala caught a sad smile creeping across Sam's face before it was shaken away. "It'll be an interesting debriefing when I get back," Sam commented as she raised her eyebrows. "I'm ready, just waiting for Cam to finish..."

"Which I am," Cam interrupted.

The addresses procured from where Domic had been camping were dialed and when two of them connected, Teal'c tossed through several items in each event horizon. Sam took several minutes to memorize the symbols of the planets they had successfully connected with and began to get ready for her journey.

It didn't take long before Sam had taken a seat on the ground, the stone in her hand, giving out last minute instructions on what to do if she hadn't returned in 48 hours. Cam and Teal'c avidly reassured her that they had it under control and Sam placed the stone on the communications device after a moments hesitation. Within a few moments her body went limp and she fell to the ground, Vala lying her flat on her back and not in the slightly awkward position she had landed in.

The waiting began.

_AN: I can't believe it's been so long since I updated!!!! I had a hard time falling back into this fic so please let me know what you think. _


	13. Chapter 13

To Vala the 48 hours crawled by so much that she began to wonder if there was some time dilation field surrounding them. She watched Cam continue wearing the grass down to dirt as he paced back and forth from the DHD to where Sam still lay.

As they had discussed earlier, each team member spent a watch by Sam's side, checking her vitals to ensure that she wasn't in distress on the other side. Other than a few long minutes where her heart rate had sky rocketed before returning to a steady lower rate there wasn't any change in her condition.

Vala glanced at her watch wondering how one minute seemed to be ticking by so slowly. The agreed upon time was 48 hours before they destroyed the communication device. Either the time limit would wear out or Sam would get into trouble on the other side, and by checking her vitals they would hopefully have enough notice to destroy the device before something killed her over there, wherever she was. Until that time limit passed they were doomed to wait, occasionally sitting Sam up and slowly and very carefully dripping water into her mouth so she wouldn't become too dehydrated. Sam had assured Cam that her body could go longer without food providing they continually gave her water, occasionally using some of the powdered energy drinks that they had in their packs. Cam however had disagreed stating that while she probably could go on much longer, if things went sour here they would need her to be somewhat active if they needed to escape in a hurry. 48 hours had been the time limit that they had both agreed upon.

Vala had stayed clear of the discussion, her mind wandering to how they would get back, or what would happen once they got there. She stretched her back out, glancing at her watch. Still just under 13 hours to go.

* * *

She woke up suddenly, the slight remembrance of a nightmare on the edge of her consciousness. Taking a deep breath she glanced around, yet in the darkness of night was unable to see her teammates expressions. Wanting to stretch out the kinks in her back and legs she took a quick walk around their temporary camp, noting that both Domic and Levia were asleep. Cam was leaning against a tree but he tipped his cap to alert her that he was awake. Teal'c was sitting beside Sam and she joined him there.

"Any change?" She asked.

"There has been no change in Colonel Carter's condition. Are you rested?" Something in the way Teal'c asked his last question let Vala know that he was aware she hadn't dreamt pleasantly.

"Oh, you know how it is off world. No such thing as a good sleep," she said lightly.

"Indeed." Teal'c raised one eyebrow and Vala hastened to change the subject.

"So what do you think will happen when we get back?"

"I am unsure, though I believe that the first priority will be to establish Domic's true identity," Teal'c stated.

Vala squirmed a little remembering her own experiences with Dr. Lam after returning from her extended stint in the Ori galaxy. In the darkness she couldn't tell if Teal'c had noticed her reaction, though now she was wide awake, remnants of the nightmare making her reluctant to try sleeping again.

"Teal'c, why don't you end your watch early. I'll stay up," she offered.

"If you are sure Vala MalDuran."

"I'm good, go ahead," she responded a little too brightly. "I'll wake Cam if I start getting too tired."

Vala watched as Teal'c stood and made his way towards Cam. She heard him settle onto the ground and turned her focus back to Sam.

An hour to go, Cam had begun to pace again. Even Teal'c looked slightly concerned. Vala was trying not to fidget too much but they were getting too close to the deadline. If they destroyed the communication device before Sam was able to get in touch with someone from the SGC or one of their allies, they could be stuck in this galaxy for a long time.

* * *

With less than 5 minutes left and still no change in Sam's condition, Cam and Vala began to argue about extending the deadline. Vala wanted to give Sam longer while Cam was dead set against it.

The argument came to an abrupt end when Teal'c informed them that Sam was under some stress and her heart rate had increased dramatically. Vala raced to dial the DHD, Cam and Teal'c grabbing each end of the communications device, while Domic and Levia watched looking puzzled.

As the gate connected and Cam and Teal'c heaved the device into the forming event horizon, Vala ran back to Sam, landing heavily on her knees.

Sam opened her eyes while gasping for air and when she looked around, she calmed down.

"What happened?" Cam demanded.

"They're on their way," she stated.

"You got to the SGC?" Asked Vala as she helped Sam sit.

Teal'c came over with some energy bars and water and between bites Sam filled them in on her past 48 hours.

She'd ended up in some poor man named Joe which brought a smile to Teal'c's face. Apparently he was some sort of acquaintance of General O'Neill's. Vala, feeling like she needed to re-read more of SG-1's past mission reports, watched as Domic moved a little closer to the group as Sam began explaining how she'd got in touch win the SGC. From her tale Vala though Sam had been very lucky to end up on Earth but she only wanted to hear one thing.

"How long will it take them to get us home?"

"Well, we managed to connect to the gate after many attempts, that we tested here earlier. We sent a MALP through but the environment on that planet won't support humans so we'll have to wait for the Cassiopeia to arrive in orbit before gating through. They'll set up a shield so we can gate there and them they'll beam us on board."

"And how long will that be?" Asked Vala gloomily.

"About 3 days," responded Sam to the surprise of everyone else. "There's still a Supergate active from our galaxy to the Ori galaxy. It was left open so we could eventually send some of the ex-Ori soldiers home, and in case we ever decided to travel here to find more technology."

"Wow," Cam vocalized what Vala was feeling. "So what happened at the end of your little 'vacation?"

Vala almost laughed at the slightly embarrassed look that Sam was now wearing.

"Joe wears contacts and one of them fell out as I was heading down to the control room. I bet his ankle's broken," she said as she grasped Cam's outstretched hand and got to her feet.

After taking a quick inventory of supplies it was decided that Cam, Levic and Teal'c would return to the abandoned house to see if there had been anything left there, and if not, sneak into town to get enough food to last them a few days. Vala and Sam would remain at the Gate with Domic. Vala was torn between not wanting to go back to the village and not wanting to stay with Domic but elected to stay. There was a small part of her that wanted to find out more about him, have a chance to talk to him while he was alone.

For a while Vala was content to sit, while still keeping an eye out on their surroundings, and watch Domic as he inspected the Stargate and DHD. At first he had approached cautiously, jumping back when Sam had called out to him that it was safe at that moment, but the minute she called out to him, he was to get out of the way immediately. It had taken him quite some time to get close enough to touch it but when he had, he'd run his hands over the surface just like Daniel would do, peering closely at the designs on the light surface.

Sam informed Vala she was just going to take a quick walk around the perimeter they'd established, just crossing into the forest they were surrounded by, and Vala moved closer to the gate. Domic was seated in the grass staring at the gate intently, but far enough away that if the gate were to connect he wouldn't be killed by the vortex. He didn't look up at Vala until she was standing next to him.

"Does it really work?" He asked.

"Well, if by work you mean transport you to other planets, or the same planet in a different time, then yes, it really does work," Vala babbled. Curious, she sank down into the grass next to him. "How did you arrive here?"

"A Prior brought me."

"Do you remember when? Where you were from before?"

"I do not remember my childhood, only a few memories from recent times. I remember the prior explaining to me that it was time for me to go to my new home."

"You were a teacher?" Vala tried to prompt him hoping he would remember something from his past.

"That is what I was told and I can see myself enjoying such a task."

"Why?"

"When I was permitted in the village, I enjoyed telling stories to the children. They are so eager to learn, and listen to what is being said." A ghost of a smile passed over his otherwise blank face. Vala shivered slightly as she realised how blank his expression truly was compared to how vivid Daniel's expressions were.

Letting the subject drop, Vala responded to Sam's radio call that all was clear and she'd be back in less than 5 minutes.


	14. Chapter 14

After two days had passed Sam dialed the gate and tossed one of their radios through and from then on, every hour on the hour, they dialed the same address and tried to make contact with the Cassiopeia hoping it was there. Vala was feeling very restless, stuck in the same spot for too long. She felt as though the trees were beginning to close around her and was having a harder time than normal staying asleep. She would wake up, gasping for air, feeling as though she was about to be trampled by the forest. The nightmares continued, some worse than others. She dreamed about being burned alive, and many other aspects of the past two years. In the last dream Daniel had made an appearence but had morphed into Domic who was leading a group calling for her execution for the murder of her daughter.

Forcing the memory of that particular dream to a dark corner of her mind, she watched as Cam dialed the gate yet again and began the now normal routine of attempting to hail a ship that may or may not be waiting for them on the other side.

During their wait Levia asked many questions about Earth and what her life would be like. While Sam informed her that there were many planets she could choose to settle on, several of those planets being home to ex-Ori soldiers, and previous believers, Levia seemed to be set on staying with Domic. Vala couldn't bring herself to inform her that before she would leave the drab grey walls of the SGC she would have to subject herself to tests and to an endless wait until she was deemed suitable to live amongst the other people on the planet.

Someone, she'd heard once, had called it a re-education program, designed to teach these 'aliens' how to live on Earth and how to deal with the technology and customs that they would encounter. From what Vala could gather, before she came to the SGC, most off-worlders either relocated to another planet or tried to live on Earth before getting into trouble of some kind. She understood their feelings all too well. The planet she now called home was technologically backwards in some respects but so completely different in culture and customs. Their laws of behaviour was somewhat difficult to grasp as she had found out at first, and the fact that the rest of the world was not aware that there were in fact aliens out there, made it difficult to really be herself. There of course had been a few exceptions and aliens lived quite well by themselves, integrating with society and making good lives for themselves, but would Levia feel it was a home to her or would she easily become overwhelmed?

Domic, however, she was sure would not be allowed to relocate, or leave the base for a very long time. While a small part of her that wanted to believe this was Daniel, she dismissed that as a wish of her heart and her mind told her that he was some sort of trick planned before Adria's demise. She wanted every test available done on him and wanted to see the results to find out exactly what he was. What her team members thought she wasn't sure, but Vala knew that they too would support being absolutely sure as to what Domic was.

Throughout Levia's questioning of the others, Vala watched Domic's behaviour with curiosity. She imagined that anyone who had lived in exile with only one small village in his memory would be a little more intrigued about locating to a new world where his life could be improved significantly. Instead he sat slightly away from the group watching the birds fly over the trees, or just staring into nothing, his eyes seemingly glazed over. Sam, once or twice, tried to draw Domic out but to no avail, so eventually she left him alone.

When the third day of waiting, dailing and attempting to hail the Cassiopeia was drawing to a close, Vala returned from her perimeter check to find Teal'c attempting to draw Domic out. Levia was sound asleep a short way from them, and Sam was sitting by herself out of the glow of the fire.

"It's all clear," Vala said as she sank into the grass beside Sam.

"I don't think we'll see anyone out here," Sam mentioned absentmindedly as she watched Domic and Teal'c.

"Do you think Levia will choose to stay on Earth or try another planet?"

Sam paused before answering. " I'm not sure. I think she wants to see our home, but I also think she will get impatient with waiting in the SGC until she gets clearance. Plus, I doubt that the SGC is going to allow Domic access to the surface anytime soon."

Vala merely nodded her agreement as Sam continued.

"There's just too much we don't know about Domic. Once we know who is is, why he looks so much like Daniel, once we have those answers we'll be able to guess what happens next."

Vala didn't ask Sam what she thought Domic was. Vala knew that Sam would analyze the situation scientifically and until there was proof of who he is there would be no straight answer for her. Instead she thought about the complete lack of curiosity shown by Domic.

"Levia is very happy to be leaving," sighed Vala. After a moment she hurried to add, " not that I blame her. I was ecstatic to be leaving Ver Ager after that little experience."

"Hmm..."

"Have you noticed that Domic is anything but interested? He asks no questions, and seems to have no opinion on where we are taking him." This behaviour was starting to concern Vala.

"Vala, we don't know the full story behind his exile, who or where he was before coming here, or what has happened to him for all of his life. This could be just his personality." Sam paused and Vala knew that Sam was doubting her own words. "Or he could be scared and not able to show it in any way other than becoming withdrawn."

Vala couldn't argue with that. Any person would be scared in his position. She'd been in one similar. Stuck with no memory of who she was and knowing she was completely alone and in some sort of trouble. She'd managed to keep herself going, working in a diner, until Daniel and SG-1 caught up with her and her memory had returned. That experience had been terrifying, more the fact that she couldn't remember anything. Being alone, hunted down, and running for her life was nothing too terribly new for her but not having her memory or knowledge of who she was had been the most horrifying time in her life.

Vala leaned back into the grass content to look at the stars as Teal'c steady voice told Domic about Earth as he had first experienced it so many years ago.

* * *

"Get up!"

Vala struggled to open her eyes, her hand already grasping her gun ready to fire at whatever was attacking them. It took her a moment to realize that it was Cam shouting at everyone to wake up, then yelling at them all to put down their weapons. It wasn't until Vala stood up that she comprehended what was going on. The gate was connected and Cam was shouting with glee into his radio, an impatient voice beating the static to return his questions. They were going home.

Sighing with relief Vala collected the few items that were't already packed in her backpack and checked to see if anyone had left anything behind under the cover of night. The man whose voice was coming through the radio informed them that a shield had been raised in the area immediately surrounding the gate on the other planet and the moment all of them were through, they would be beamed aboard the Cassiopeia.

Cam went through the gate first, followed by Sam. Both Domic and Levia looked apprehensive at the thought of stepping through the gate yet with some gentle encouragement from Teal'c, Levia took the first step through with Teal'c right at her heals, leaving Domic and Vala alone.

Vala watched as Domic took one last glance around the gate.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"This is the only home I've ever known," he said as though he was talking to himself. Then as if to shake himself out of his reverie, he turned to the event horizon and lifted one hand. Gently he ran his hand over it, pulling his hand back the first time he brushed it only to try again a moment later. Vala resisted the urge to shove him through and get back to the rest of her team, but turned and smiled at him trying to convey to him that it was going to be alright. Taking a deep breath Domic closed his eyes and took a giant step forward.

When she exited the other gate she caught a brief glimpse of their surroundings before being plunged into complete darkness as the wormhole disengaged. There was no moon or sun illuminating the new sky above her but within moments her eyes adjusted and they sky was littered with stars.

She shivered at the cold as it seeped in through her clothes, her fingers becoming numb as she held her weapon ready. A familiar voice echoed through the radios letting them know that the Cassiopeia was ready. A bright light engulfed them and when Vala opened her eyes she was back on board the Cassiopeia.

"SG-1," a familiar voice greeted them. "Good to have you back in one piece again."

Vala grinned at the formidable Caldwell as he nodded at her. The first few times she'd met him she hadn't liked him at all but as she got to know him during the war against the Ori she'd come to respect him, then form something more than an acquaintance yet less than a friendship with him. She knew that Sam and he butted heads yet there was mutual respect that was shared by all of SG-1.

She watched Caldwell's face as he took in Domic, his jaw dropping for a moment before his training took effect and he welcomed the newcomers to his ship. As Domic passed him, Caldwell shot a glance at Sam looking confused. Sam had informed SG-1 that while she was on Earth in Joe she had talked about Domic but Vala knew it was one of those 'see it to believe it' moments.

As they continued to walk down the narrow corridors of the Cassiopeia Vala began to get irritated by the open stares that the crew were shooting Domic. Biting her lip to restrain herself from creating more attention by snapping at those gawkers, she was almost surprised when they reached the ships infirmary.

She glanced over at her team barely suppressing a grin. They were all still sporting marks of their somewhat violent exit from the trip to the Ori galaxy, and Sam had burn spots from the fire at Levia's all over her clothes. Looking down at her own attire she noticed several on her pants and hoped they'd have something comfortable and warm in her size.

She sank into one of the unoccupied chairs as Domic and Levia were led away by two nurses as another began to get ready to check over SG-1. Caldwell left them after asking them all to join him in one of the offices once they were done.

Accepting a glass of water from an Airman, Vala leaned back into the chair, her eyes feeling heavier and heavier until she finally dozed off.

_AN: At the rate my muse is harrassing me there should be another chapter soon :)_


	15. Chapter 15

General Landry stared blankly down to the gateroom aware that SG-12 was just back from a mission yet not able to tear his thoughts away from what he'd seen earlier. Less than 5 hours ago SG-1 had walked onto that same ramp with two extra travellers. Despite hearing from Sam within Joe that they'd found someone who seemed to be Daniel Jackson, seeing it with his own eyes had been something else. He had been a little relieved to notice that he was not the only one in the control room or gateroom that morning who was barely suppressing openly gaping.

The Cassiopeia had dropped them off at the closest planet with a gate once they got into the Milky Way, then the newest addition to their fleet of ships had continued off to the original mission it had been assigned. SG-1 had strolled through the gate as if it was everyday they returned from a mission that stranded them in another galaxy and brought back someone resembling a dead teammate. Shaking his head Landry squashed a laugh that was threatening to spill out. It wasn't like SG-1 had never beaten the odds in crazier situations before. It was almost expected of them now.

He'd sent them to the infirmary planning on scheduling a several hour long debriefing later on once they had clearance from Carolyn to leave the infirmary. Domic and Levia for now would remain in the infirmary under guard until their future and in one case, identity, had been sorted out and confirmed.

He smiled when Carolyn entered the briefing room and listened while she informed him that SG-1 were a little tired, bruised, but otherwise in good shape. She asked if she could send them up as they were itching to leave the infirmary and he figured that the debriefing may as well start now. SG-12 wouldn't mind the extra time to shower, eat and maybe nap.

He watched as they all trouped in several minutes later, clean and looking refreshed. He made himself comfortable and prepared himself for a long and interesting debriefing.

* * *

It didn't take long as he'd expected which was good as SG-1 had begun to cover up yawns. There were a few conclusions he had drawn, one of them being that Vala was not believing this was Daniel in any form. He saw her side of the discussion that Domic was a creation of Adria's and potentially could do harm, but until he had some of the results confirming Domic's identity there wasn't too much he could do. Teal'c as usual didn't say much but Landry guessed he was on the fence and would wait until further evidence until he made up his mind. Mitchell was inclined to believe this was Daniel and he was witnessing one of Daniel's many returns from death or the brink of death. Colonel Carter, Landry knew, would keep her opinions to herself until she saw the evidence either way with her own eyes, but he didn't think he was imagining the hope in her eyes that some how this was their Daniel.

He dismissed SG-1 and ordered them all to go get some rest. Needing to see for himself he finally made his way down to the infirmary.

Both Domic and Levia were sleeping but he did get a good look at Domic's face. He released the breath he wasn't even aware he was holding. If he had just wandered in here any other day of the past year or so he would've not believed his eyes. As far as he could tell it was a splitting image of Daniel. He had to hold back on the instinct to internally jump up and down for joy at witnessing a legendary Daniel Jackson return and quickly left before he woke the man. He stopped to chat with Carolyn for a few moments before returning to the briefing room and place a call to Jack. Whatever way this whole thing panned out he thought that not only would Jack want to be here, but SG-1 would need him here.

_AN: Ok, short, I know. I had a tough time writing it any other way and just tried this. So far it's the only thing that kinda worked that I could live with posting. What do you think? Did it kill the story? Should this stay or go? I'm still very much on the fence...._


	16. Chapter 16

_AN: Small spoiler for Dominion._

Vala looked up at the knock at her door. She yelled for the person to enter and almost sent a stack of papers flying when she recognized who walked in.

While over the years she had gotten to know Jack O'Neill she still felt he was very much a stranger to her. He and Daniel had a strong if not somewhat strange friendship, and there was a bond between Jack and his former teammates, yet she couldn't quite understand this man. Since Daniel's death she imagined she'd seen far more of him than before yet it was Sam who pointed out that in the first two years Vala had been at the SGC, several months were spent in another galaxy and she hadn't been a member of SG-1 for some others.

Jack was a man that she could appreciate. His sometimes painful bluntness combined with his absolute frankness and loyalty to his team and comrades, made him into someone that Vala knew she could trust. However, he had a dark side. She guessed from the way his eyes seemed to cloud over or how he would suddenly fall quiet. Over the years she had heard most of the base rumours and read many of SG-1's past reports so she had a pretty good idea of some of the things that would cause him to react in such a way.

As she picked up the few errant sheets of paper that had slipped to the floor she caught a glance of his amusement.

"Ah, General, seat?" Vala gestured towards a chair that had another stack of paper with some books placed precariously on top of it.

Jack chose instead to fiddle with some of the things on the desk. "Vala, I've told you before. It's Jack."

Vala grinned sheepishly. "I hear everyone else say General or Sir and it just slips out."

Jack grinned and gestured around the office. "I didn't think it possible, but you've done it."

Vala quickly ran through her mind as to what he could be refering to.

"This office can get messier." Jack grinned while he explained, gesturing at the clutter on the desk and any other available flat surface.

"Well, someone has to counter Sam and Teal'c's somewhat compulsive over neatness. As for Cam, I'm not sure he even spends any time in his office," Vala said laughing as she spoke.

Jack walked over to one of the many pictures scattered over the office. This one was of Daniel many years before either of them knew him at a dig somewhere in Greece. Vala liked that particular picture as he looked so young and so innocent. Jack briefly paused before stopping in front of another picture, one of Daniel, Vala and Sam at one of the various team outings.

Jack turned to Vala and opened his mouth to say something when a sharp knock on the door interrupted him. Sam poked her head around the door to let them know that Dr. Lam wanted to see them all in the briefing room.

Once there Vala took a seat next to Cam when General Landry motioned for them all to sit. Dr. Lam entered a few moments later with a folder in her arms.

"I have the complete medical results from Domic and Levia," she announced. "It took a little longer as I wanted to run the tests a few more times."

"Is there something wrong?" Asked Sam looking very concerned.

"More like something missing."

Vala noticed that everyone sitting at the table suddenly sat up a bit straighter as Dr. Lam made her announcement and began to pass out some sort of lab results.

"As far as I can tell, Levia is in good health. We gave her the normal vaccines in case she comes into contact with something that she has no immunity to but other than that I see no reason for her to be in the infirmary anymore."

"And I sense a but coming," stated Jack.

Dr. Lam made a face short of a grimace and Vala felt her stomach drop a few inches. This couldn't possibly be good and Vala found that her hands were gripping the arms of the seat. She forced herself to relax while Dr. Lam began speaking.

"This is what required the extra time," she began quickly. "I ran Domic's blood work, then compared it to Dr. Jackson's blood work..."

"It's the same!" Exclaimed Sam as she studied the lab results, interrupting Dr. Lam.

"Essentially, yes. With one difference. When Daniel turned back from being a Prior there was a trace amount of a chemical left in his blood. We didn't become aware of this substance until he arrived here at the SGC, extremely ill. We went back through the results of his previous blood work and discovered this chemical first appeared in him when he returned to Earth after being turned in to a Prior, then reverting back."

"But Daniel claimed that Merlin returned him to the same state as he was before becoming a Prior," protested Vala.

"Is it possible that Merlin didn't know about this substance?" Jumped in Cam.

"There's no way to tell." Dr. Lam accepted the lab results back from Sam who had been examining them.

"So you're saying that this version of Daniel is a clone?"

Sam answered Jack's question quietly. "It's the most likely scenario."

"Adria." Everyone at the table turned to look at Vala. "She has something to do with this, I know she does. Why else would a clone of Daniel show up in the Ori galaxy? Perhaps she......" Vala trailed off not wanting to put her thoughts into spoken words as if not saying them made it not possible. She waved off the concerned looks that Dr. Lam and Sam shot her way.

Discussion broke out from everyone at the table yet Vala stayed quiet, lost in her own thoughts. How had this happened? What did Adria have planned before she died?

* * *

For quite a while Vala had not entertained the idea of getting a permit to drive the vehicles of Earth. She found after the first few trips in a car that there was nothing she was missing out on and besides, she hadn't needed to obtain a permit to pilot the many ships in her life. She had been more than content to accept available rides from members of SG-1 and when she first moved off the base, anyone heading her way from the SGC. After several months she relented and allowed Teal'c to teach her and obtained her licence, buying a small car that Sam had helped to pick out. Now she relished the occasional drive away from Colorado Springs.

It had only been four days since Dr. Lam's startling revelation and after leaving the briefing room they converged in Daniel's old office, now used by Vala. They had sat in silence until Jack made a passing remark, as usual of the sarcastic variety. Vala had listened while everyone voiced their shock, that while hoping there was some connection between Daniel and Domic, actually having one that concrete was stunning. An unspoken agreement seemed to emerge that Domic was a clone and no one doubted that their Daniel wasn't. How it had happened became the conversation of the evening.

Around the base people began to inquire about Domic, asking about his health. Dr. Lam had released Levia from the infirmary and was given a room at the SGC though at all time she had an escort. Domic was still in the infirmary as a precaution as Vala's concern about him being an unused device of Adria's was considered and investigated.

Vala had immersed herself in work. She translated documents with urgency that they did not require, only stopping when her eyes would not remain open. As much as she wanted to leave the base, she wanted to be there for any news on Domic.

It had only taken three days for her to feel as though the walls of the base were closing in on her and she had grabbed her keys, jumped in her car, and left. Where she was driving she wasn't sure, but it wasn't in the direction of her house.

Before long she slowed down and parked, taking deep breaths as she gazed at the expanse of trees at the side of the road. She stepped onto the path and walked towards the entrance of the cemetery wanting to stop herself yet not able to.

It was warm enough not to need a coat but as she approached his final resting place she felt a chill running up her spine. Resisting the urge to rub her arms she stopped at the plaque bearing his name.

Daniel's will had been old which had been surprising given on how many times this man had died, or almost died. Jack had been the one to inform SG-1 of his wishes to be cremated and placed on Abydos. As that was no longer possible he'd been placed to rest at the local cemetery. Several months later an updated version of his will had been found but it was incomplete so Daniel's remains had stayed.

Vala stood and stared at the plaque giving his name, date of birth and death, followed by the gate address for Abydos. The tears that had once seemed as though they would never stop refused to fall this time and she felt unusually empty of emotion.

For a short time after his burial Vala wished he hadn't been cremated. There had to be a Goa'uld out there with a sarcophagus, or an abandoned sarcophagus they could use to restore Daniel. As time had passed she realised how bad an idea that would be. While they hunted for a sarcophagus who knew what enemy could come, steal the body and revive Daniel through other means. The risk of the knowledge Daniel had of Earth, of their allies, everything he had learned in his years with the program and before, falling into the wrong hands was too high. By the time she had travelled to Atlantis she had dismissed any thought of bringing him back.

Now she was faced with another possibility she had never considered. Adria, most likely, had cloned Daniel and created a shell of him. What had been the plan for him? When had it happened? The theory at the SGC was that Ba'al had something to do with it as he had created many clones of himself. Adria must have kept a sample of Daniel's DNA and later, when she had been implanted with one of Ba'al's symbiotes, used his knowledge to create a clone. Regardless of how he came to be, here he was, and Vala was unsure as to how or if she should interact with him. He had no memory of her, of his former life. The events of his life had shaped Daniel into the man she had loved, and there was no way that this copy was the same.

Feeling like her train of thoughts were starting to whirl around inside her head, she retreated to her car, longing for the sense of peace that had taken so long for her to embrace, to return.


	17. Chapter 17

In the weeks that followed Vala expected many things to change, however while there were a few small changes, life went on pretty much as normally as it could at the SGC. SG-1 still went on missions and Vala continued to work in her office in between. She did take time to go home every few days as missions permitted, just to spend some time off base and relax. She even hosted a 'girls night' with a few of the other women from the base that she had gotten to know fairly well. She remembered the first one she'd attended at Sam's house. Contrary to what the movies she had loved to watch when first arriving on Earth, these nights did not revolve around hair and nail polish. Vala had become quite proficient at many of the card games played and endured the teasing she often received at being lucky that the alcohol consumed wasn't affecting her.

Domic had been released from the infirmary after a battery of tests resulted in no indication he was any threat to the base, or himself. He had been given a room close to Levia and the two had been given permission to wander certain levels of the SGC provided they were escorted at all times. They had not been given clearance for Level 28, or several levels with the majority of the weapons storage and several of the labs. Neither of them had mentioned returning to the Ori galaxy or of making a home for themselves here on this planet or another in the Milky Way.

Vala found that with the mission schedule combined with her own work at the SGC she was fairly busy and didn't interact as much with Domic as she could've. She knew that she could easily find time as the other members of SG-1 did but always seemed to find something that needed her attention. Teal'c probably spent the most time with Domic as he had a little more time than Sam or Cam, yet both of them spent several hours a week with him, talking to him about Daniel and trying to get him to remember his own past in the Ori galaxy.

Under Dr. Lam's recommendation and General Landry's orders, Domic had been subjected to several hypnotic sessions which were eventually abandoned as it became clear he wasn't able to remember anything before arriving at the Ori village where SG-1 had found him. The doctor performing the hypnosis admitted that while this method was useful in bringing forth suppressed memories it wasn't an exact science. Something could've happened to Domic that locked his memories completely rendering hypnosis useless, or that could've been the point where Domic was cloned.

Domic had not been told of his status as a clone and the psychologist with whom he visited regularly suggested that it only be revealed to him once he had become comfortable with who he was. While most of the personnel at the SGC did not know what he was, they did know about Daniel Jackson and his death and all the hot air created by the rumours Vala was sure provided the heating for that week. There was still speculation but most of the rumours had died down and fortunately Domic and Levia remained oblivious.

Vala found that Domic hadn't changed much since arriving on Earth. He was still very quiet, shy and eager to please, constantly apologizing for his lack of memory and asking if there was anything else he could do for them. Perhaps the only difference was that he was starting to trust them more, asking a few more questions but he always shied back as if doing something he was going to be disciplined for.

The cleanup after the war was going well. There still remained a few Priors, yet without their powers the greater concern had been the very few remaining Goa'ulds swooping in to claim worlds that had turned to Origin. Amongst them, sightings of Ba'al had been reported but not from any reliable source. Many of the SG teams were busy going to new worlds where the population had embraced Origin and helping them recover, gaining new allies all the time. They had encountered several hostile worlds but most of those had not encountered the Priors and were content to live as they had done for generations. Several worlds had been obliterated, leaving only ruins as clues to who lived there before. The archaeologists, anthropologists and scientists were busy on those worlds, extracting what they could of technology and information on who the populations had been.

Vala now had a regular task if she was not off world as the stack of papers requiring translations grew in the linguists in boxes. She left many of the translations in languages she didn't know or could easily decipher to those that were more skilled, instead taking ones in Ancient, Ori, the few in Goa'uld or the few other languages she had learned over the years. As she was off world frequently, if there was anything urgent that needed to be translated quickly piled on her desk, there were many others on the base who were more than qualified, otherwise she doubted she'd be allowed on missions.

* * *

Back from their most recent mission and finding no more missions scheduled for the next week, Vala dove into the stack of documents on her desk hoping to actually see the polished surface of her desk before she left the base for a few days at home.

Several cups of coffee later she paused when she thought she heard something. Frowning at the coffee maker and thinking it was time to replace Daniel's old one, she went back to her work only to snap her head up at hearing a noise again. This time she knew it was someone knocking very quietly on her door and she called out for them to enter. When the door didn't open she stood, frowning. If it was any member of SG-1 they normally wouldn't even bother to knock, and if it had been any of the base personnel they would've opened the door by now. She opened the door and stared in surprise at Domic standing in front of her.

"Uh, hi," she stammered.

"Sorry, is this a bad time?" He glanced warily at her and she felt her momentary discomfort bleed away at his hopeful expression.

"No, come in." Vala smiled at his escort who nodded in return and left. She knew he would not be far away, probably down the corridor, and would wait until Domic left. "Sorry, it's a bit of a mess in here," she babbled. "Just, er, let me tidy up a few of these papers."

Domic stood just inside the doorway and looked around while he frowned. Vala quickly created a space for him to sit by moving the stack of books onto the floor and poured a cup of coffee for him. He took a sip, winced at the taste, and stared at the items littering the bookshelves and any flat surface available.

Vala was unsure of what to say as it felt too unnatural for her. She remembered when it had been her sitting in that very chair, Daniel sitting where she sat now. She had been the one looking at all the pictures and artifacts he had on display and asking questions about each one.

He took another sip of coffee and stood, walking towards one of the many photos of SG-1.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Vala asked quietly as if not wanting to startle Domic.

"Um, I don't think so," he responded, pushing his new glasses further up his nose as he inspected the picture. "Is this....?"

"Daniel. Yes." She remembered his habit of pushing his glasses up when he was studying something intently. To an outsider this could very well be Daniel standing in front of her. Dressed in second hand jeans and t-shirt, holding a cup of coffee in his hand, contemplating the secrets and mysteries of some new document. Taking a breath she pointed out the other pictures, telling him where they'd been taken and when, just to stop the awkward silence from returning.

As she ran out of pictures and stories to go with them, the visit ended as abruptly as it had begun. Domic thanked her politely and hastened towards the still open door. He paused outside, then took a left and Vala stuck her head out into the corridor just as the Airman who was Domic's escort walked past.

"Why did you bring him here?" She asked.

"I didn't, Ma'am," he explained. "He just started walking and as he wasn't going anywhere not permitted, I allowed him to continue. Would you prefer he not return?"

"No, that's alright." She waved dismissively at him and returned to her chair, once again sinking into her work and in a few minutes she had forgotten about the unexpected visit.

* * *

When she heard a knock she glanced at the clock, shocked at the time. Domic's visit earlier had been shortly after she'd arrived at her office just after breakfast. Now it was well past supper as her stomach took that moment to remind her. Sam opened the door and grinned at Vala.

"Haven't seen you all day so I thought I'd bring you something to eat."

"Thanks. I hadn't realised it was so late." Vala took the tray of food that Sam was holding and placed it on the desk. "Where's Cam and Teal'c?" She asked as she unwrapped one of the sandwiches.

"Cam left for his place this morning. I thought he told you?" Sam frowned as she too grabbed a sandwich.

Vala nodded while her mouth was full. She remembered that he had made plans for the next two days. "Teal'c?"

"He was leaving the commissary when I grabbed these." Sam waved the sandwich before taking another bite.

They continued to eat in silence as Vala contemplated telling Sam about her visit from Domic. Once they'd finished the food, discussed their plans for the next few days and discussed SG-17's recent discovery, a call came through for Sam from Dr. Lee and she excused herself. Left to herself once more, Vala picked up where she had left off in a thoroughly boring translation.

* * *

Domic continued his visits with Vala and each time she felt a little less uncomfortable. He began to ask more questions, mostly asking about what she was doing or working on when he arrived at her office. Vala found out that he had been asking questions of Daniel's past to Sam. A part of her felt relieved that she wouldn't have to try and answer those questions. She honestly felt she knew far less about Daniel's past than Sam did. What she knew of the Daniel before encountering the Stargate was learned through others and some she suspected of being rumours. Domic spent time with Teal'c and Cam, sometimes when they were practicing staff weapon fighting, or usually at mealtimes. Vala noticed that he began to spend more time with herself and Sam and less with Levia.

As he began to lose some of his shyness and gain a little confidence he began to speak to many of the others working at the SGC. Vala noticed that he did make a point to say hello to the many scientists and researchers but always greeted any of the military folk with his head slightly down and did not stay long to talk.

He had taken to coming to her office and spending hours pouring over the books, some hers, some Daniels. He would look at the ones with pictures of artifacts and Vala managed to get quite a collection, borrowing from the other researchers to keep him entertained. She eventually informed the Airman who was still his escort, that if she was on a mission Domic had her permission to be in her office.

About two months after Domic's arrival at the SGC, Vala returned from her post mission debriefing and infirmary visit to find Domic sitting in her office engrossed in a book. She stole a glance at what he was reading and stopped when she recognized it. It was a book that had been given to him years ago delving into the Book Of The Dead and combined with Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and their translations, discussed the long dead beliefs. It was well thumbed through by Daniel and one of the few books that Vala had never read. She had leafed through it once or twice while Daniel had been alive, commenting on how boring it looked to read.

Domic didn't even glance her way as she abruptly left her office and spoke to the Airman outside. Within a few minutes Sam, followed by Cam and Teal'c ran out of the elevator towards her.

"What is it?" Asked Sam.

"It's Domic. He's reading," Vala stated as she watched Sam's eyes go wide.

"And?" Cam almost yelled.

"I believe that Domic does not posses the ability to read English," concluded Teal'c in his calm deep voice.

Cam shot an inquiring look at Sam before comprehension dawned on his face.

"Both he and Levia were tested on basic skills shortly after they arrived," clarified Sam. "Both of them had very little reading and writing skills in Ori or Ancient and certainly no English or any other language of this planet. They were even tested in Goa'uld just to be safe. While Domic's math skills were a little higher than Levia's, they're still pretty low."

"Until now I've only seen Domic looking at books with pictures in them," added Vala. "I've often explained to him what he's looking at." She watched as Sam nodded in agreement.

"So it's possible that he taught himself?" Queried Cam in a quieter tone.

"It's possible, but not very likely. To be able to read and comprehend any language would take longer than two months, if he started learning the moment he arrived on Earth." Sam rubbed a hand over her face while suppressing a yawn.

"We could just ask him." Cam nodded in the direction of the half opened door and when the others turned they saw Domic staring at them.

"Ask me what?"

Vala swallowed before answering. "Domic, that book you were reading. When did you start to understand?"

"The words? I'm not sure. It was one of the other books here that I read and I started to recognize the words."

Vala began to question Domic on what he had read and didn't realise that Sam had left until Dr. Lam entered, Sam right behind her. She insisted on taking Domic to the infirmary and run a few tests.

Vala was wishing she'd kept her mouth shut after what felt like several hours of waiting but finally Dr. Lam called for them and General Landry to meet her in the briefing room. Once there she began to explain that during the tests they had discovered that areas of Domic's brain that had previously been dormant, were now active.

"What do you mean active?" Demanded General Landry.

"Well, Sir. The specific areas are those used in learning. If you tested a child before their first year at school and after you would find results to be similar. For some reason Domic is learning at an accelerated speed, but we also found that areas of his brain associated with memory have also been activated. It is possible that he is regaining his memory and if when Adria cloned him she taught him some English, he is merely remembering that skill."

"Dr. Lam, could this not be a side effect of the cloning?" Inquired Teal'c.

"I don't know. It could, but I doubt it. We don't..."

Cam jumped in before Dr. Lam could finish. "What about when General O'Neill's brain began to overload?"

"He did have an Ancient database downloaded into his mind," Sam pointed out.

At that point several people began talking at once and General Landry called for them to quiet.

"Dr. Lam, is there any evidence that this is something similar to what happened to General O'Neill?" He asked.

"No. I think if that would've been the case we would've seen something like this sooner. For right now I'd like to keep monitoring him. If we can limit his exposure to new material I may be able to tell if this is merely an extraordinary quick period of learning, or if it is a memory."

"Do it," were General Landry's orders as he dismissed them.

Falling onto her bed, her eyes feeling as though they could not possibly stay open any longer, Vala wondered if she had done the right thing to alert SG-1 to Domic's new talent. Had she not said anything he would've continued to learn as he clearly wanted to. This new restriction on him meant that he would not be able to spend as much time, if any, in her office and she sighed as she realised she would miss his quiet presence while he was there. Another side of her argued that if she hadn't said anything it probably would've backfired and he either would have become very ill or done whatever Adria had programmed and created him for.

Kicking back the sheets she sighed and hoped that she could hold off the argument with herself until after she had some rest.


	18. Chapter 18

When Vala had first found out that Domic was a clone she decided that while she would do what she could to get him settled, either on Earth or someplace else he could call home, she would not get attached to him. She had felt she was doing well until Domic began visiting her in her office. A bond of sorts had formed in the silence which they mostly sat. By now she was used to him being there and missed his visits. She also found that while he resembled Daniel in a few more ways than just how he looked, he was a different person. This shy, awkward, unsure man was a far cry from the Daniel she had known and she couldn't help but be amused by his shock and awe at some of the things she had been confused about when she first arrived at the SGC. She grinned as she remembered the first time he had poured his own coffee from the coffee maker she had in the office. He hadn't realised the plate the pot sat on would be hot and accidentally touched it, dropping coffee and the pot onto the floor. Her first reaction had been to check that no documents or books had been damaged but upon seeing his face as he stared in shock at the warmer while holding his hand, had almost caused her to burst out laughing. That had been before his rapid learning had begun.

She still managed to keep a distance between them somehow. While she was amused by him she would never allow the thought of him or his presence to comfort her. When she found herself missing the times he would visit she would plunge herself into her latest project only to realise that she had missed dinner with her team, or sometimes the chance to sleep before morning.

The rest of her team seemed to be dealing with Domic in their own way and Vala couldn't tell if they were becoming attached to him or any signs that they would merge the lines between Daniel and Domic. If they did either it was when she wasn't around or they kept their feelings well in check. Unsure how to talk about it she stayed quiet, hoping the day would soon come when they could have Domic and Levia settled anywhere but the base.

In order to track how and if Domic was learning at a rapid rate, if it was a result of his cloning, or part of some plan of Adria's, SG-1 and most of the personnel were kept at a distance from him. He was in the infirmary and Vala stopped by briefly to say hello after a post mission check up but within two weeks Dr. Lam couldn't explain where he was getting his information from. In the regular updates she presented to General Landry and SG-1 she explained that he was comprehending more about the world surrounding him each day in leaps and bounds. All scans of his brain showed activity in areas that had not been active before. He was released from the infirmary, still with limited contact to SG-1 and many of the scientists and other SG teams. His learning progressed at the same speed as it had in the infirmary.

The way he learned seemed strange to Vala and she assumed the others felt the same too. He was able to speak and write several languages by now, and without being shown how could use a computer quite efficiently. He also demonstrated that could easily use basic appliances and the everyday technology available to him, yet while this came easily, if not second nature to him, he could not recognize people he had never met, or names of places on Earth or planets in the Milky Way.

Dr. Lam wondered if Adria had somehow managed to place some of Daniel's memories into Domic but Sam pointed out that Daniel's knowledge of their political and defense systems along with names and addresses of their allies would've been more use to her than how to use a microwave. The general feeling was that something had gone wrong with the cloning and not all information had been copied into Domic.

Vala learned of Domic's progress through her team mates as she rarely saw him anymore. He didn't swing by her office casually anymore and she often found him in the company of Levia, talking or reading to her. She knew he still hung out with the others, but only after they had grabbed him. Dr. Lam reported that his period of rapid learning seemed to be cooling off and they weren't sure if it was his sudden disassociation with any of the SGC personnel. Dr. Lam and the psychologist suggested that they let Domic continue in whatever way he wanted to for a while, just to see what would happen.

* * *

Jack was in Colorado Springs for three days. He spent most of his time on the base as did the rest of SG-1 but they did head out for a night of good food and drinks. Vala always enjoyed the team nights, even more so when Jack was there. Since Domic's arrival at the SGC she'd seen a lot more of Jack O'Neill and had become far more comfortable around him. When he was around there were many stories told of his time on SG-1 with Sam and Teal'c filling in bits. Cam admitted that while he had read all the reports it was eye opening hearing them told. Plus Jack tended to liven things up a little too, either embellishing on the original mission, or telling them truths that had been left out of the reports.

The next morning Vala was heading for the commissary thinking about their newest mission. There had been reports of a downed Ori ship that had survived almost completely intact. Unfortunately for some reason yet to be determined they couldn't dial that planet anymore. Sam was confident it wasn't an issue on their end and General Landry had informed them that once the Odyssey returned from Atlantis it would take them there so they could find out what was going on. She was so deep in thought she didn't see the man walking towards her.

"Coffee?" He yelled at her, scaring her out of her thoughts.

"Jack!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"Ya sure ya betcha."

"Sorry, you caught me by surprise," she said as they joined the fairly small line by the sandwiches.

"I can see that," he laughed. "Thinking of something?"

"Just the next mission."

"Ah, the Ori ship."

"Yes. Hopefully we can get to the planet and fix their gate, then check out the ship." Vala selected a table and the two of them sat down.

"The report says it looks like it's in good shape," commented Jack.

"That's what we've heard. About time though. I'd really like to see if we can access any of their files about...." Vala trailed off and Jack shot her a frown.

She was relieved he didn't push her. The moment Landry had mentioned the ship Cam's and Sam's eyes had lit up. She knew for Cam it was the chance to see if they could get one of these suckers, as he liked to call them, off the ground. For Sam it was purely scientific, to see what powered the ships, how they worked, but for Vala she wanted to find information she couldn't get anywhere else.

"If we can find any record of Domic we may be able to find out why he was created, and how," she blurted out. Jack's only response was to raise his eyebrows. Vala knew in that instant that he already suspected as much, and was wondering the same thing himself.

A silence fell upon them as Vala picked at the wrapper of her now eaten sandwich. "Pie?" Jack asked and when she nodded he went to go grab her some. Looking around she was startled to see that the commissary had filled up since she had arrived. Glancing at the clock on the wall she saw it was just after noon and when she returned her glance to watch Jack butt in line to get their pies she noticed Sam enter, Domic and Levia on her heels. Jack saw them as he returned to the table and waved them over.

"I forgot how it gets in here around noon," Sam commented taking a seat.

"Well, if you actually ate at normal times then you'd be used to it," snarked Jack as he swatted away Sam's hand in a feeble attempt to steal his piece of pie. Moments later they were joined by Cam and Teal'c bearing a tray load of food for all of them. Vala scooted her chair over a little more to make room for all of them to squish around the table but she was still sitting across from Jack who was currently eyeing Cam's desert.

Sam and Teal'c began a discussion that sounded like it had started sometime earlier and in between bites Cam would add a point. Vala groaned inwardly as she recognized the topic. It was in regards to a planet where a medicinal plant had been discovered but the locals had refused to trade for it. They were polite enough in their way but Vala had a feeling that they looked down on the humans and were much happier to be left alone in their simple lives. Vala had been willing to ignore it and carry on with the next mission but Daniel hadn't wanted to give up. He offered them everything he could and possibly more to try and help their living conditions and quality of life but they absolutely refused. She remembered the day that the gate hadn't connected for one last attempt and the look of disappointment and sorrow on Daniel's face. She knew that he had considered it a failure and no matter what anyone else said to convince him otherwise would change his mind.

During the cleanup after the Ori had fallen the SGC had begun to dial planets they had little if any contact with, just to see how the locals had fared, if they needed assistance or to see if there were Ori soldiers remaining on these planets. Not expecting the gate to connect, it had to the surprise of everyone, and teams had gone through, finding that there were no Ori remaining but the planet had been hit hard. Assistance had been given to the locals but the IOC had expected something in return. When they hadn't received anything rumours began to fly about taking the plant without permission.

There were many opinions on this rumour and the fact that Jack hadn't flat out denied the rumour helped Vala believe it was an option that was being seriously considered. Teal'c did not see much harm in obtaining many samples to bring back to Earth to develop for human use as he believed that while the locals would be unhappy, it would only take one trip. Sam wasn't too happy with destroying the chance to study what other natural resources the planet possessed and making potential enemies in the process. While Vala understood Teal'c's opinion she felt herself leaning towards Sam's opinion also. Cam vocalised opinions on both sides of the argument and kept the rest of SG-1 guessing where he stood on the matter.

It was an old discussion that picked up in the middle and seeing as the gate address was not mentioned nor the exact benefits to the human race, the conversation continued with Domic and Levia eating their lunch in silence. Vala was hoping that the conversation topic would change soon when Jack spoke up.

"Look, while I agree that angering the locals isn't normally a good thing, if you just slip a few of these plants in your ample pockets, how are they going to know?" He jested.

Sam glared at Jack, followed closely by Vala. Hoping that she could change the topic now that Jack said his piece Vala opened her mouth only to be interrupted.

"Jack, that's not right and you know it," an indignant voice spoke out.

"Oh?" Jack questioned waving his empty fork in the air.

"You're betraying the trust of a group of people who are far less advanced than us," Domic exclaimed.

"And what would you suggest?" Asked Jack.

"There has to be another option. What if there's other resources on that planet that could prove to be far more beneficial to us? What then? We go in and kill if we have to just to get what we want?" Domic insisted.

"Hey, no-one suggested any killing of locals here," Jack fired back.

"But what if it came to that? Find out what it is they want, what they're interested in, what their culture is based upon. Surely then we could offer them something." As he spoke Domic gestured wildly, oblivious to the stares he was getting from Levia, Sam, Cam and Vala who were sitting in silence watching the two men argue.

"We tried that! It didn't work, otherwise we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"Jack," spat out a highly irritated Domic.

"Daniel," responded Jack, not missing a beat.

A sudden silence fell upon the group as Jack took a deep breath, the rest of the table staring in shock at Domic and Jack. Abruptly Jack shoved his chair back and stood. He stared at them as if he wanted to say something, thought better of it and fled the commissary. Sam excused herself and followed him, Vala wanting to do the same but not able to move.

She glanced around the commissary, thankful it was busy as the noise level had drowned out much of the conversation. There were a few inquiring looks headed their way but no one really seemed to be aware of what had just happened.

"I uh, I'm just going to...." Domic stared at Vala briefly, confusion and fear written on his face, before making a quick exit, Levia right behind him.

Cam exhaled and shook his head. "Well that happened."

Teal'c nodded, his eyebrows almost up to his hair. "Indeed."


End file.
